From: USA
Year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal
Every time an American band pushes the boundaries of black metal or doesn’t wear corpse paint or doesn’t endorse Satanism (and I’m sorry, but Satanism is just fucking silly anyway and 98% of the time I feel like its just bullshit posturing), or produces an album that doesn’t sound like it was recorded in their living room, they are labeled as hipster. Granted, many bands are sprouting up that are less than genuine with their intentions. But does that mean that every black metal band in America that doesn’t rehash the same tired aesthetic is hipster? And the bottom line is, American BM is way more innovative than anything coming out of Norway or even Sweden anyway, and at the forefront of such innovation, is Krallice.
On their 3rd album they have continued in their quest to push black metal as far as it will go before transforming it into something else entirely. The compositions are as intricate and epic as ever, trying to unwind them can keep you busy for days. This is not music for the casual listener, it takes multiple listens to even understand what they are doing half the time. Although the serpentine noodling of the guitars is still in full force, it’s a bit more restrained on this album, they interlock and follow each other much more than before. Litany of Regrets is full of this technique and is the closest example to traditional black metal on the album. Overall the album feels less claustrophobic than previous releases as well, there are many slower parts, the title track and Telluric Rings (easily their most accessible song) in particular, that allow the music to breathe a bit more. With breathtaking beauty and mind numbing intensity they’ve proven that you don’t have to follow every formula to create epic black metal. So call it hipster if you want. It’s always easier to write something off and dismiss it than it is to understand it anyway.
Buy it here.
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