Krisiun - Scourge Of The Enthroned (2018) [Hi-Res]

Once in a while during a band’s career, there comes the moment when you look back and reevaluate your body of work. Such self-criticism can either lead towards an overhaul of one’s stylistic palette or increased awareness for what you truly are. Considering Brazilian death metal brothers KRISIUN, such an analysis can cause quite a dilemma. Active since 1990, and renowned for such furious classics as the rabid “Black Force Domain” (1995), 2000’s constantly blasting masterpiece “Conquerors Of Armageddon”, and the merciless yet memorable “Southern Storm” (2008), the band’s trademarks have always been insane tempos, almost inhuman drumming and Lemmy-like roaring vocals negating any sense of ‘hooks’ or ‘melody’. And, let us face it – while KRISIUN have become extremely technical and more varied in terms of grooves and rhythms over the years – they are forever committed to deliver the full-on-death-metal -assault that made the group legendary in the first place. Still, after 2015’s “Forged in Fury”, Alex, Max and Moyses realized a different approach was necessary. “It was a bit of a complicated album,” singer/bassist Alex Camargo admits. “There were more slower parts on it and it was also quite long. We still stand behind it 100%, but we doubt it is what KRISIUN’s essence is about.”

Thus, for “Scourge of the Enthroned”, KRISIUN’s 11th studio album, the group decided to head for a faster and extremely savage record again. Clocking in at an intense 38 minutes – counting in the bonus tracks “Forged in Fury” was almost an hour long – it was also due to producer Andy Classen’s input that “Scourge of the Enthroned” became a real monster: “Working with Andy at Stage One Studio again, felt like coming home. We stayed at his musician’s apartment for almost a month and we all concentrated on capturing an honest, almost live kind of vibe and trimmed the songs harder than on the last one.” Located in the countryside close to German city Kassel, the landscape helped immensely during this period. “There was no distraction at all, that place is in the middle of nowhere and apart from barbecuing with Andy we just worked on the songs like madmen.” Once the album kicks off with the title track, KRISIUN’s newest opus hits with an urgency and immediate force that even harkens back to the debut! “You mean the ‘Black Force Domain’ riff in ‘Demonic III’, huh? That song is about the band and our history. After all these years, we felt it was about time we do our own anthem and a riff like that is a bit of a throwback for us and the fans!” In terms of sound, however, the band did not bring back the uncontrolled roughness of “Black Force Domain” yet had a distinct mindset when starting the recording process: “We interpret the album title as us being a scourge for all the plastic death metal out there. You are listening to human beings here not a computer! All has been recorded and played naturally, and while you can hear all details, it does not go for this ‘American’ sound that is so lifeless and sterile. It is a very organic and heavy album and I think that connects it with the spirit we already had on the debut.” Indeed, sir, and it offers a whole bunch of highlights as well! From the Slayer-like screeching solo opening ‘Devouring Faith’, to the neck-breaking ‘A Thousand Graves’ and rhythmic complexity of ‘Abysmal Misery (Foretold Destiny)’ over to the album’s epic finale ‘Whirlwind of Immortality’, the latter being another track connected to the artwork by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Hate Eternal, Incantation) as Alex explains: “The song is about the Anunnaki, who appear in Sumerian mythology, judging the fates of mankind. Often they are portrayed as seven figures, we have only three appear on the cover since it connects well with ‘Demonic III’.