Krolok is derivative by design, describing their music as a return to the way things were done in the nineties. That means guitars harsher than AMG’s comments on a n00b first draft, rudimentary drumming, and strummed riffs played with more passion than precision. The barely-there bass leaves the synths that are Krolok’s signature instrument to carry a heavy load. They lend moody accents here, double the guitars there, and occasionally carry lead sections of their own. Solos are jagged and fleeting, making a quick point before they recede back into the riffage. The touchstones are proudly obvious: early Immortal and Bathory, with the keys adding a hint of Emperor’s grandeur. It all adds up to an exercise in Gothic eeevil that doesn’t break new ground because it’s not trying to—which means that for Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky, it all comes down to execution.
There’s fun to be had on this dungeon crawl. Krolok spent their early days singing about vampires, but lately they’ve been focused on ancient ruins and the horrors that may lie beneath.1 It’s a novel approach that feels specific to the dilapidated castles that dot the foothills of the Little Carpathians. Krolok is writing what they know, taking what they see every day and running it through the filter of singer, guitarist, keyboard player, and all-around mastermind HV’s imagination. The new subject matter doesn’t stop HV from coming on all Lestat-like; the lyrics can’t always be understood, but at least two of these songs (“Toward the Duskportals” and “The Reptile Abyss Beneath Dowina”) feature seductive invitations to join him on dark journeys. The music, simple as it is, succeeds at conjuring an atmosphere of gloomy twilight in unforgiving country. You can feel the chill of night approaching in “Black Lore of the Fens” and headbanging highlight “Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky,” and you’d better get somewhere safe before the sun disappears behind the mountains.
A band this indebted to its forebears always faces the question, “why not just listen to the records that inspired them?” Krolok tries to answer by throwing in new wrinkles here and there. There’s a rollicking speed metal riff, a descendant of the Motörhead family tree, that peps up “The Reptile Abyss Beneath Dowina.” A melodic lead guitar line briefly rears its head in the same song, and a strummed acoustic takes over near the end of the instrumental “Path to the Haunted Ruins.” But these moments are rare enough to conclude that Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky is more committed to homage than it is to inspiration. The spook-house keyboards are a relatively fresh aspect of the outfit’s approach, but as the numbers roll by it becomes obvious that they tend to be deployed in the same way each time. There’s a wearying pattern to the songwriting—by the time you’re listening to penultimate number “Unveiled Subterranean Treasures,” Krolok’s limited bag of tricks has reached the point of diminishing returns.
When someone tries to freeze an art form at a particular moment in time, they’re ultimately trading in nostalgia. Joker can ape Martin Scorsese all it wants, but that movie will never have the shattering impact of Taxi Driver.2 The same math applies to Funeral Winds & Crimson Sky. The ghosts that haunt this record aren’t limited to the ones floating around ruined Slovak castles. They also have names like Quorthon, Euronymous, and Dead—and until Krolok commits to building on the foundations laid for them by these giants, there’s only so much to be gained by accompanying them on their midnight travels.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Osmose Productions
Websites: krolok.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/krolokband
Releases Worldwide: December 21st, 2021
