Kromlek – ‘III – III’ (2024)
Rating: 9.5/10
Release: 14 November 2024
Label: Trollzorn Records
Kromlek is a six-member German band and III-III/Upphaf is technically their third album. “Technically” because it’s a dual-disc tour-de-force (disc 1 is III-III, disc 2 is Upphaf). If you like their sound, there’s so much content here to enjoy. There’s something for everybody here, too: crazy lead guitar riffs, great synth bits (including some cheesy orchestral hits), amazing power metal, several flavors of gruff vocals in multiple languages, big drums, and sixteen whole tracks.
Among a sea of well-mixed and well-produced metal albums, this one (these two?) stand above. Big riffs, crunchy rhythms, and deep bass and drums check all the boxes. They’ve mastered their sound and expanded so much that this should appeal to any fan of darker metal music. The songs have freedom in their structure, and half of them clock in at more than five minutes, giving them room to breathe.
Folks who read my reviews know that I’m a sucker for multilingual acts. This checks all the boxes. German, English, and Swedish with a great variety of themes presented vocally and sonically. As mentioned above, it’s clear that there was a lot of effort poured into this album, and it shows right through.
Getting on to tracks: Nunatak (Native American for “mountaintop”) is a great track with a great intro, German-into-English-into-German lyrics, and a bunch of great segments. Kromlek is great, too, as the first track on the second disc. It feels like the start of a whole new album, and with a great bridge and a long runtime, this is a breath of fresh air. “Herjan” (Havoc) is another track that’s genuinely rollicking and great. If you’re a fan of traditional power metal, definitely give this a listen. Likewise, Mantikor (“Manticore”) had some awesome riffs and lead parts backed with horns-worthy drumming, and “Moritvrvs Immortalis” (Death of an Immortal) is a solid ending to this eighty-three minute experience.
If you’re on the fence, I’d strongly recommend checking out “Kromlek” or “Nunatak”. There’s a lot of content, but don’t be intimidated. It’s all quality. Cheers!
Tracklist
Disc 1 – III-III
- Þursöld I Gigantenwelle 04:13
- Þursöld II Seismonade 04:25
- Þursöld III Nunatak 06:10
- Ek, Gangleri 05:06
- Totem Tales I I tidevarvet av uR 06:13
- Totem Tales II aRktur 05:23
- Totem Tales III AlgyR 03:45
- Strandhögg pt. IV – Ráns Schattenpass 05:25
Disc 2 – Upphaf
- Kromlek 08:04
- Träskens Näve 04:00
- Strandhögg pt. I Drachen im Nebel 04:39
- Strandhögg pt. II Gefolgschaft der Gezeiten 04:05
- Herjan 03:53
- Grim Omens 08:35
- Mantikor 03:56
- Moritvrvs Immortalis 05:15