This trio from Brazil started back in 1990, heavily influenced by
Slayer and
Morbid Angel. Through hard work and extensive touring, they have created a following for their fast and uncompromising death metal. Not quite technical enough to be technical death metal but still playing with more virtuosity and technicality than the average death metal band, they have been labeled semi-technical death metal (duh!). Besides they have a definite american sound.
Even though
Krisiun consists only of the brothers Moyses and Max Kolesne on guitars and drums with Alex Carmargo handling both vocals and bass, the sound is full and thick with plenty of dual-voiced rythm guitar parts. Impressive if they can recreate this sound live.
Right from the beginning we are blasted away. Imagine a train running at full throttle, running down anything that gets in its way and you have the feeling that
AssassiNation gives you. Brutal, massive and uncompromising but at the same time with plenty of breaks and different drumming rythms, never getting boring. This is to a high degree because of the Kolesne brothers, where Moyeses on guitar has plenty of brutal and varied riffs with Max on drums basting away with equally high energy and variety.
The sound is crystal clear, drums high in the mix but still leaving room for the rest. Generally everything is played tight as hell. If I had to point something out, I would probably prefer some more balls in the rythm guitars, since there still is something to improve compared to the best recordings in the genre. But still we are talking some of the best production in death metal.
Alex' vocals are brutal and full of venom, a very good growler. He tends to be a bit monotonous, staying in the same voice most of the time only screaming or going lower a few times. A bit more variety would have suited the music.
The solos are a plus. Moyses solos are wailing and screaming, perfectly accompanying the tight rythm parts most of the time with the use of the wah-wah pedal, here creating the needed diversity. This is the perfect showcase for the use of solos: to take a break from the song and do something different which will intensify other parts when it's over. I'm normally not a big fan of wah-wah pedals but here it's put to good use. Even the whammy pedal is used with good results here.
The last track is a cover of
Motörhead's Sweet Revenge. The slower tempo works as a good end to the record, finishing off showing a groovier side of Krisiun. I'm pretty sure this ending will have the most die-hard death metal fan nodding as it fades out.
Krisiun's relentless attack of the senses is very successful. A solid album which I'll guarantee that most death metallers happily will add to their collection. Maybe not innovative but with some solid tracks and an excellent execution. The highlights here are the drumming, guitar riffs and the production. If they can deliver the same power when playing live, I'll be in the first row for sure. This one will occupy my cd player for some time.
Written by
Tajs Thursday, April 6, 2006
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