CROWPATH
Son Of Sulphur
(Earache Records)
33:59min

This is my first encounter with the Swedes from CROWPATH who already relesed the album "Red On Chrome" on Willowtip Records some time ago (re-released via Earache later on – Frank) and what one can hear on "Son Of Sulphur" makes me curious about their debut as well. When I asked some friends about this band, I mostly heard comparisons with newer GORGUTS and admittedly, there is a technicality and vibe which lets me think of "Obscura" at times even though CROWPATH conjure a different kind of atmosphere and rely on different influences. Actually, this seems like the best of several worlds, imagine an amalgamation of the bizarre twists of the abovementioned later GORGUTS, the hyperactive and also technical power of BURNT BY THE SUN and the misanthropic and hateful doomy disgust-ridden Sludge of GRIEF. The vocals are the closest thing to Hard / Sludgecore actually as they are rather screamed in a mid range, yet very powerful and almost schizoid at times. There is nothing much to say about the production as it is crisp, clear but luckily not thin. CROWPATH will surely appeal to both persons coming from a technical Death Metal background as well as those who prefer intense Hardcore / Mathcore… Even as the parts of which this record is comprised of are demanding, the entirety sounds natural and not even a bit forced. The bands wanders through extremes without losing track of what they are doing – which is not exactly the norm with technical material as it presented here. Personally, I can live without the vast majority of bands in "core" genres but as I can dig this record you will be able to do so even more. Get your mindfuck today. On a sidenote: the album artwork has been created by Juha Vuorma who should be known to some Voices readers for some time now. www.crowpath.com.

Ulrich Kreienbrink

Ulrich Kreienbrink

Related reviews / interviews:
CROWPATH - Red On Chrome (Christoph Göbel)

Leave a Reply