“I can address the Arch Enemy-shaped elephant in the room with For I Am King. A female vocalist, a Gothenburg-inspired guitar attack, just enough metalcore riffage to keep things relatable – Crown has got it all. To be clear, there is nothing cutting edge about it; if it’s riffs you want, ask and you shall receive. Don’t approach Crown expecting to come away with the prototype of the new breed of melodeath or a newfound respect for Arch Enemy.” Arch usurper.
“Industrial black metal has not boded well in 2020, with groups like American snoozers T.O.M.B. and Dutch painmongers Ulveblod earning some of the lowest ratings I’ve awarded during my tenure. Dkharmakhaoz’s Proclamation ov the Black Suns, blessedly, is extremely well-written and densely punishing second-wave foray into atmospherics that never neglects its highlights.” Black sunshine.
“Slow it a bit, tune it down, strip it of all its accents, hide the emphasis behind a wall of sonic venom and just let it go for an hour: Psychurgy will reveal its disturbing beauty in more than just one way. CROWN is a French duo and they don’t reinvent the wheel and likely never actually dared to think they could. If you’ve had the pleasure to get hold of their recent debut EP – The One, then you know these guys are serious when it comes to carefully handling their frequencies. Psychurgy is surely a step forward in terms of sound and composition: the repetitions are still there, the slowly violent love affair with drone continues to monopolise the dynamics and the sludgy aesthetics of a doom wandering away from metal is still a persisting presence.” Alex is on the job discussing French drone duo CROWN and their stubborn refusal to reinvent the musical wheel.
