Krallice, a name often angrily muttered under the breath of the black metal elite, usually alongside the likes of Deafheaven and Liturgy and accompanied by the adjectives ‘hipster’ and/or ‘bullshit’. To try to shoehorn the New Yorker quartet into such a one-dimensional stereotype is a rookie error, however. If you actually take the time to sit down with a Krallice record and give it a proper listen the first thing you’ll notice is how little in common they have with the aforementioned two bands, secondly you’ll notice the diverse spectrum of sound their music expanses. All four members have backgrounds in math rock and tech metal, and while their music may have laid down very tentative roots in black metal territory, it is by no means bound by this formula. Their fifth self-released record has come as somewhat of a shock; with no press release to speak of, it was suddenly made available via Bandcamp and is currently only available in a digital format – although Gilead Media will be handling the physical release later this year.
What’s noticeable first of all about ‘Ygg Huur’ is its short length – spanning just 35 minutes, all of the epically long shoegaze passages and stifling drone undertones have been stripped away, creating a platform for the band to showcase frenzied and complex riffs. This is no doubt Krallice’s most violent and jarring release to date, but without displacing musicianship for raw aggression. This newfound speed and brutality could be in part due to Marston’s involvement with Dysrhythmia or his participation on Gorguts’ critically acclaimed ‘Colored Sands’.
The stand out track on this record is without a doubt ‘Wastes of Ocean’ – the constant shift in tempo and instrumental dynamics will almost make you giddy. The six minutes and 42 seconds that this song spans allows it to move through a kaleidoscope of oscillating synchronisation, uncompromising percussion and reverberating riffs. Each musical component feels like it could collide with the others, but never quite reaches that point of musical mayhem – there is more of a controlled chaos at play here.
Despite this stylistic shift in sound, Krallice are still very much the same band, and that titillating black metal blueprint is still ever present throughout, it just lays the foundation upon which the four piece are free to create inspired madness. ‘Ygg Huur’ is an undisputed middle finger to genre snobs the world over.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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