Craving is back in force.
Created in 2005 under the name Erbos, the band changes its name the following year and releases its first demo. In 2023, Ivan Chertov (vocals), Wanja Gröger (drums, Àletrun, Keep of Kalessin, Voldt) and Jonas Papmeier (guitar, Àletrun), helped by Leonid Rubinstein (bass, Servants to the Tide) announced their signing with Massacre Records and the release of Call of The Sirens, their fourth album.
Mich Packt Die Wut gives us a clean introduction before aggressive Pagan Black Metal roots resurface. The scathing and frantic sound coupled with raw screams will welcome heady and soaring leads before returning to pure violence coupled with keyboards, then Call Of The Sirens, the eponymous track, carries us away in a wave of cold and majestic sounds. Sharp melodies and mysterious additions perfectly blend into the devastating charge while integrating unifying choirs which we would like to join before a more soothing final, followed by Death March and its melancholic introduction. We’ll have a part of these dark sounds in piercing leads, but also in the more soothing vocal parts which contrast with the rhythmic’s virulence, then the band softly leads us to Maiden Of The Sun and its impressive sounds. The jerky rhythmic builds a warlike universe to which intense screams and epic leads add energetic sounds, contrasted by heady choruses and the final haunting solo, then Blood Ov Franconia brings a playful and catchy touch thanks to lighter Folk influences, which perfectly fit the waves of rage. Gods Don’t Negotiate keeps this motivating approach while welcoming guitarist Marek « Ashok » Šmerda (Cradle of Filth, ex-Root) to create a federative track with an intense solo which lets keyboards slowly take over before Prayer For The Rain reveals a softer and more calming basis, to which the band of course adds its aggressive touch, while adopting Atmospheric Black Metal-oriented parts. The atmosphere remains tense with Star By Star, a more Old School track which lets the band develop its catchy melodies coupled with a fast and efficient rhythmic while enjoying the warlike choirs before venturing to a more joyful tone again on El Diablo, a cover of the Greek singer Elena Tsagrinou. The sounds are as catchy and heady as ever, letting clean vocals lead choruses, then it’s with Shum, a cover of the Ukrainian Electro-Folk band Go A that the band closes its album, showing once again that their aggressive mix works perfectly with playful patterns.
With this new album, Craving shows us that rage still flows in their veins, and that their riffs are sharper than ever. Exploring from Pagan universe to impressive Black Metal sounds, Call Of The Siren is a nodding easy listen.
90/100
