Crocell

Prophet's Breath

Written by: PP on 02/02/2016 20:43:08

Århus based death metal warriors Crocell released their fourth album "Prophet's Breath" last summer. Their output so far has been slightly inconsistent: debut album "The God We Drowned" was decent but failed to create a lasting impression, follow-up "The Wretched Eidola" was where the band solidified their sound and started showing potential, but stumbled on the third record "Come Forth Plague" on an attempt at sheer brutality at the cost of good songwriting. Two years later, "Prophet's Breath" is their best album so far and arguably the landmark release of their career considering how carefully it molds together both styles into a thoroughly enjoyable death metal package.

Let's start with brutality, because without brutality, there is no death metal element. The down-tuned serpentine riffs are of devastating pummeling nature, the percussion brings forth a constant barrage of rapid-fire blast beats and machine-gun style kit bashing, and the growled vocals are sufficiently low-end to qualify in a genre dominated by subwoofer vocalists. Those elements make a death metal album, but they do not make a good death metal album. That's where the band's knack for writing catchy, melancholically-induced riffs comes into play. Rollicking melodies and subtle guitar harmonies are underlying the core death metal aspects of their sound, and the growled vocals, while certainly brutal, are decipherable and delivered with character and power. "Cross To Your Grave" is an excellent example of a track that manages to be both brutal and surprisingly catchy at the same time, exactly what quality death metal should be like. The overload on melodies almost throws the band into the melodic death metal pigeonhole where we'll find At The Gates as a primary inspiration, but most other tracks on the record take a far more deliberately heavy and punishing approach.

Still, it is tracks like "Kingdom Of Corruption" and "Wolves" that stand as highlights on the record alongside the aforementioned track. They are thick and pummeling, but also offer enough hints of melody to appeal to a wider audience than the core death metal group. In fact, they are death metal in international class and easily comparable to the bigger Swedish bands out there. That's what makes "Prophet's Breath" the best Crocell album so far; the balance between the melodic and the devastating is at a near-perfect state. A must check out for Danish metal fans anno 2015.

8

Download: Cross To Your Grave, Wolves, Kingdom Of Corruption
For the fans of: At The Gates, Dawn Of Demise
Listen: Facebook

Release date 19.06.2015
Deepsend Records

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