Crowley's Passion "Love Kills" CD
[Burning Season]
Not bad, not bad. This is vicious metalcore from Germany that has a pretty good sense of energy. They're definitely pissed off, and they don't rely too heavily on the typical trappings of the genre's current state (i.e. melodic Swedish death metal riffs and such). They do sound similar to a lot of those bands, but they're heading down a slightly different path. There are a lot of note-based riffs and chugging picking patterns that have that semi-Slayer sort of vibe that a lot of 90's European metalcore had going on, and I'll take that over the current crop any day. Vocally the style does tend to remain in the upper midrange screaming zone, but there are some burly lower growls as well. The quick singing vocals and solos in "Night Without Morning" are really fucking good, it's too bad they're done by a guest, because I'd love to hear more of that. To my surprise they do a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and actually make it sound good, because I abhor Bob Marley and particularly despise that song. I'm shocked to say that their rendition here is one of the standouts, though. Of course the recording could use some work, as the drums are a bit taut and there's a lack of bass presence, but the guitar tone is really heavy and works for what they're doing, and the vocals would sound fine if they fell in with the music slightly more. It took my ears a few listens to adjust, but they do. The visual presentation isn't so bad except I hate computer-generated graphics, so the illustration of flames and skeletons and whatever in the center of the cover is cheesy, but the rest of it looks pretty good, despite some relatively bland typefaces. As one would expect from the album title, the lyrics are, well... not happy? "See the end and feel the pain, See the child and his burning heart, Justice never comes..." I think I'd like to hear more from this band in the future. The songs are just about where they should be, but with further progression and a heavier (or at least warmer) recording they could have something going on. (6/10)
Running time - 20:56, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Redemption Song, Night Without Morning]
Burning Season Records - http://www.burningseasonrecords.com

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