One of the heaviest new bands to come along in years, French duo C.R.O.W.N. have crafted a debut that most acts take a career to achieve. This bleak, monolithic monstrosity is riffing off some of the heaviest music ever made; Godflesh’s stark, clinical foreboding is mixed with the sludgiest moments of Neurosis, moulded with Killing Joke’s ‘We’re all fucked’ feel.
But the sheer heft of the thing shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow the songwriting skill. Serpent And Fire builds through electronic effects before bursting out into full on wrath in a manner Cult Of Luna would be proud of. Abyss grinds and pounds slowly across the landscape, gaping voids of calm forming in its wake for you.
And at the last, when you might expect the archetypal slow number to come in, blasting drums and black metal venom mix in Alpha Omega’s cathartic start, only to plunge into shockingly cold, atmospheric sludge at the end. You’re left a little in awe. And fucking terrified.
