Review Summary: Crowpath is all for heaviness, and from their debut the band shows they have the talent to become masters of the style.
Despite all Crowpath’s albums being ultra-heavy, they have a distinct sound or feel.
Red on Chrome, band’s debut album, is their more metalcore-sounding release.
Riffs are fast, chaotic and urgent, creating a pummeling, dense sound. Guitarist Patrik Lundh’s amazing talent at writing downright heavy, effective riffs is apparent since here. From the moment “Hellbound” turbulent riff comes in, you’re caught into a barrage of madness that never stops, slowing down a bit in the menacing title track “Red on Chrome”, only to start all over again. The first six songs are so frantic, you can’t help but to keep listening. Songs are indeed very short, and come out like violent outbursts of energy.
“Like Flies to Flames” sounds like electrocution (or like millions of flies being burned to death, indeed). “The Suburban Plague” is uncontrolled wrath about to explode, and “The Precise Art of Knives” feels like an electric storm. The band only has 30 minutes to make their point, and they do not waste any second of it. The brief silent, dim preludes in songs like “Protected by Judas” or “Kings Among Cockroaches” are the closest there is to some shelter on the album until the closer “Clean” comes in, and gives the album and interesting twist, a practice they will follow in future releases.
If band’s sophomore
Son of Sulphur sounds like war, this sounds like an hurricane. If you are not really into heavy music, most likely you are not going to enjoy it, because sometimes it can be a headache. The band does not care about the levels of cacophony they can get, or if they are going to be too much for the listener. You will have a hard time telling songs apart from each other on first listens. It really sounds like a convoluted mess, but Crowpath know their art.
It’s not rated higher, just because the album is less restrained and controlled (if that is possible) that future releases. It is as if with every song on were unleashed a raging bull and the band fought hard to contain it. Also, the sound, though relentlessly furious, is less distinctive and elaborated than in the next albums. Still,
Red on Chrome will satisfy more than enough those who are in search of something delightfully crushing.
3.8/5
