Krigsgrav is taking off.
Following their signing with Willowtip Records, the band composed of David Sikora (drums/clean vocals, Discorporate), Justin Coleman (guitar/distorted vocals), Wes Radvansky (bass, Midnartiis), and Cody Daniels (lead guitar, Giant of the Mountain) unveils their eighth album, Stormcaller.
The album kicks off with a bang with Huntress of the Fire Moon, a haunting opening track that perfectly captures the heavy atmosphere and violence of the band’s Black and Doom influences. Jens Rydén (Thyrfing, ex-Naglfar) joins Justin‘s screams, making the vocal assault even more visceral, while the rhythm section crashes down on us, allowing for melancholic passages before moving on to Stormcaller, whose harmonics prepare us for the hurricane of violence that follows. The leads fit naturally into the devastating flow, first offering a lighter touch before giving in to the frenetic rhythm, even following the movement during the airy break before a new acceleration that joins Twilight Fell and its ethereal harmonics. It should be noted that the track is much more soothing than the previous two, still offering some interesting double kick passages and livelier moments that create a contrast with the airy passages, then the band returns to its original oppression with None Shall Remember Your Name. The leads stand out once again thanks to this haunting touch, allowing for the introduction of David‘s backing vocals, which give a mystical and mysterious touch to the composition that perfectly punctuates its progression, mixing saturation and clear sound before a grandiose final that leads into Bay of the Barghest. The composition gives us a moment to catch our breath before shifting into an epic atmosphere fueled by Cody‘s solos, who goes all out to bring furious riffs to life, as well as a few moments of hesitation before accelerating again for the aptly named The Tonic of Wilderness. The track is very catchy from the very beginning, even developing Black/Folk touches on certain passages, such as when the clean vocals return to slow down the pace, punctuating the waves of rage until Ghosts, which adopts more or less the same dynamic while skillfully weaving its dissonance into a jerky progression. I particularly appreciate the luminous harmonics that guide us to the desolation of Womb:Death:Dawn, the last track, which starts off extremely slow but then picks up steam and carries us away for a final charge that leads to the final solo.
Whether Krigsgrav was completely unknown to me until an hour ago, Stormcaller has just made up for it! The announced Doom influences are still sometimes noticeable, but the album focuses on intense tones to develop its potential, and I really like that.
90/100
