Tech Death Thursday: Kronos
Tech Death Thursday goes brutal! Join me in diving into the discography of Greek mythology fanatics Kronos.
But first, the news:
– The first Tech Death Overload festival has been announced for February 6th, 2016 in Montreal. Thus far, only three bands have been confirmed (First Fragment, Aepoch, and Teramobil), but they promise many more to come. Check out the website here or follow their Facebook page for details.
– I’m a little late to the party on this one, but Blaskhryt have a new (well, new as of May) song on their Bandcamp fo’ FREE! It reminds me more than a little of Capharnaum.
– Blood Red Throne have a new song set to gameplay of Hatred, and it’s (probably unintentionally) hilarious. Thankfully, the song is much better than the video.
– Remember that Gorod song you couldn’t listen to last week? Well now you can! Peep “Celestial Nature” over at Decibel.
– Obscura have finished mixing and mastering their new album! If you don’t believe me, believe Linus Klausenitzer‘s dreamy eyes. Would those eyes lie to you?
– There’s yet another new Rivers of Nihil song out, and in this writer’s humble opinion, it’s the best one thus far. Check out “Sand Baptism” here, and look for Monarchy on August 21st.
– No Clean Singing has premiered the title track of Inhuman’s upcoming sophomore release, Conquerers of a New World. Another song can be heard at either Satanath’s or the band’s Bandcamps. Conquerers will be out on August 30th.
Kronos’s first outing, Titan’s Awakening, is largely what you’d expect from a brutal death metal album: sudden tempo changes, lots of low-end diminished riffs, basement-tier production, and incomprehensible gurgled vocals. It’s not bad; just predictable. Awakening does set itself apart from other BDM albums with a significant presence of melodic hooks. Though the first half of the album is pretty straightforward, songs like “Dismember” and “Disease of God” have a few moments that are downright catchy. Lyrically, the band doesn’t get into as much mythology as they would on later albums, but “Mashkhith,” “Sysiphe,” and “Eternal Mindtrap” hint at things to come. All in all, it’s a solid album, but it lacks some of the distinguishing features of their future efforts.
Right off the bat, Colossal Titan Strife sets itself apart from its predecessor. The chaos of the first album has largely been exchanged for melody here, which results in much more straightforward and memorable songs. The bassist and lead guitarist’s formidable skills are more on display here as well, with ripping solos on “Submission” and “Monumental Carnage,” as well as complex bass lines on “Haterealm” and “Kronos.” If Decapitated had decided early on to write about gods and titans, it would sound a lot like this. Strife is a significant step up from Awakening and comes with my highest recommendation.
The Hellenic Terror takes everything great about Strife and turns it up to 11. The hooks are catchier and the riffs far more complex than anything previously attempted. This album also sees the band experimenting with new song structures, mixing up time signatures and odd harmonies. “Suffocate the Ignorant” even has a bizarre calm section in the middle that sounds unlike anything appearing on Awakening or Strife. The production has a more modern feel here, too. Everything has been cleaned up, leading to a much clearer mix that sacrifices none of the power present on the previous two albums. It’s on Terror that the band truly comes into their own, pulling away from their brutal death roots in order to establish a clearer identity for themselves. The music is more cerebral than many of their peers and the mythological themes are in full force here.
Fast forward eight years later and finally we reach Arisen New Era. Kronos’s latest is also their most complete; I’m unsure as to whether or not this is a concept album, but the music thematically fits together so well that it may as well be one. The excellent production from Terror is still intact here, and it’s apparent that the band has greatly improved as musicians during the interim between albums. Musically, Era is the most complex album in their discography and features some absolutely brilliant solos, my favorite appearing partway through “Klymenos Underwrath.” They take greater advantage of their dual guitarists here too, doing far more than just harmonized riffs. “Aeons Titan Crown” features a cool call-and-response riff in the beginning, and “Brotherlords” has a few segments where each guitar is playing something completely different while staying melodically coherent. Arisen New Era is shaping up to be one of my top albums this year, and can be streamed in full here.
Though I only discovered Kronos recently, it didn’t take me long to completely fall in love with this band. Fans of tech and brutal death should not skip this, and I highly recommend digging into their back catalog.
That’s all for this week. Until next time,
I mean Tech. Fuck.
(Image VIA)
