Released by: Century Media Records
Released: August 7th, 2015
Genre: Brazilian Death Metal
Line Up:
Alex Camargo – Vocals/Bass
Moyses Kolesne – Guitar
Max Kolesne – Drums
Track List:
01. Scars of the Hatred
02. Ways of Barbarism
03. Dogma of Submission
04. Strength Forged Fury
05. Soulless Impaler
06. Burning of the Heretic
07. The Isolated Truth
08. Oracle of the Ungod
09. Timeless Starvation
10. Milonga de la Muerte
For nearly thirty years, Krisiun have released eleven blood-thirsty albums filled with gruelling vocals, gripping instrumentals and rapid soul crushing drumming flairs. Their 2011 album The Great Execution, embodied all of those elements into one brutalicious enjoyment. It has been four years since the aforementioned release, and they have been tirelessly on the road touring ever since. The time has now finally arrived for their twelfth album, Forged in Fury.
I was personally excited and honored to review this piece, especially after seeing the imaginative near Cannibal Corpse-esque album cover artwork revelation. The phenomenal artist Joe Petagno, who has designed for acts such as Motörhead, Marduk, and Nazareth, has now worked on this piece. It is filled with an incredible amount of detail that creates such a demonic and atmospherical world. These visions alone, had me personally curious to see where this blackened dimension would transfer to musically. The amped up anticipation didn’t end there for me, after I found out that Erik Rutan was on board to produce this album in his own studio, Mana Recording Studios out in Florida. I mean come on, he’s produced albums for Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Nile, Goatwhore and Malevolent Creation, it was at this point presumed to be phenomenal. Rutan is even a friend of Krisiun and has also co-produced their 2000 album, Conquerors of Armageddon, at this point nothing could go wrong, right?
When the opening track of “Scars of the Hatred,” erupted directly into my eardrums, I remember saying to myself right away that this was going to be an incredible record. It begins with a rhythmic introductory guitar riff that held me in suspense wondering what was next to come. Once the drums flood into the melody, the basslines picked up and it all swept together as Camargo’s barbarous vocals kicked in. I envisioned this would be a great headbanging and mosh worthy track to hear live, especially with its melodic changes, where the tempo slows down and then explodes into an insanely speedy pace. Towards the end of the track you hear this howling guitar chord all thanks to Kolesne, that breaks into a brief solo. I do have to say this is one well polished introductory track that made me want to hear more.
Moving right into the next, “Ways of Barbarism,” where the bassline ruled the opening as it progressed in another headbang and mosh worthy tune. I enjoyed the instrumental changes throughout this track which the ever growing pace made it a well constructed piece. It remained aggressively atmospheric that ended in a blistering finale. So far the album was two for two, and at this point I was hooked with their rhythmic diversities.
As though I didn’t think things could get any heavier, “Dogma Submission” came on and my jaw dropped after the callous instrumental opening, when Camargo’s vocals bled right in, unapologetically. My favorite part though, is after three minutes and change into this track, where the melody transcends to a delicious noodling by Kolesne as it dramatically escalates to the next chaotic verse. At this point, it was three for three now, and I would love to headbang to all of these live at a show.
As the album is near halfway through, “Strength Forge Fury” ripped right in with it’s ruthless opening, melodically shedding out with absolutely no remorse. Parts of this song gave me a Pantera-esque vibe as the pacing continued to shift however, maintaining it’s hateful energy. Another great guitar solo comes in as it loudly climbs in and echos into the spotlight. There are actually quite a few solos in this track up until the ultimate closeout that blends with an eerie atmospheric fade out. As brutal as this track is, things were starting to become repetitive and predictable however, at this point it was still four for four.
When “Soulless Impaler” swooped in, it left me feeling a bit disappointed as though it was just a filler track. There were parts that are enjoyable and catchy however, the repetition was a bit too much for me. I enjoyed the spirling pans during “Burning of the Heretic,” which inflated in a riveting sensation. There were parts here that could lead to anyone bursting into a glorified headbanging adventure however, similar moments continued to recur where you wonder if you already heard this song before even on this album alone. When “The Isolated Truth” and “Oracle of the Ungod” smashed in next, despite it’s production quality, I felt a bit unfulfilled. The songs were blending in together, that made me miss their extreme variables that was shown in the previous album, The Great Execution. It felt a bit rushed where being as talented as they are, it could have gone a lot further, darker and diabolical.
As I was debating on shutting this album off, assuming I would know what the next track would sound like, “Timeless Starvation” kicked in and took me off guard. I perked myself on my toes in ravishing pleasure, as the intro alone kept me fully engaged. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album, it’s demonic, cut throat and down right brutal. If only the last few tracks would withhold a strength as fierceful as this one, this could have been a perfect album. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment was the last track which I don’t even know if it should even count since it’s about fifty-two seconds long. “Milonga de la Muerte,” an acoustic instrumental closeout that has nothing to do with any of the previous tracks. It has disconnected itself entirely where, you end up wanting to hear more tunes that sound like “Timeless Starvation.”
Bottom line, majority of this album has been consistently aggressive and despite having a few weak tracks on here, it’s still worth picking up. There are a few songs that I can see myself repeatedly listening to such as “Scars of the Hatred,” “Ways of Barbarism” and “Timeless Starvation.” I do think things should have been more polished in terms of the songwriting but with that aside, it’s good enough to Rock on.
Written by: Zenae Zukowski
Ratings: Zenae 7/10
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