Feb 112016
 

KRONOS-Arisen-New-Era

 

There’s definitely no way I can come up with any unifying theme for this latest trio of songs that I’m adding to our 2015 Most Infectious list, other than the fact (and it is a fact) that they are all highly infectious and I like the hell out of them.

We have three days left before this long list reaches the end. The other songs can be found here.

KRONOS

We premiered a song from Arisen New Era (though not the one I’ve chosen for this list), and DGR reviewed the album for us here. As DGR noted, this was something of a re-launch for this band whose roots extend back to the mid-’90s — their first album since 2007 and one with a new vocalist and new drummer in the ranks. Continue reading »

Jun 252015
 

 

(DGR reviews the new album by those French titans in Kronos.)

Since Unique Leader has come into prominence over the last few years, the label has been the overseer of a tech-death explosion, one that has seen them dredging up all kinds of different groups from the rubble and ash piles of local scenes while at the same time ensuring that in the wake of their roster of bands there would be absolutely no notes left for anyone else to play on guitar.

As something of a genre-label, Unique Leader have acquired a sound — the type of noise where you can see their logo on a group’s album and more often than not usually guess what they will sound like. Not to knock them, of course, as the label has been the savior of the Nor-Cal death metal scene up here, picking up some of the most highly technical and underrated bands and at least giving them a shot after they’ve been scrapping it out for years. Continue reading »

Jun 102015
 

 

Is it possible? Could the music on Arisen New Era be as stunning as the cover art? It might not seem possible, if you weren’t already familiar with Kronos. But those who are familiar with the three widely praised albums they’ve released so far know that this French band are quite capable of matching the sheer gob-smacking splendor of this artwork for their fourth one. The question is, have they done so? You’re about to find out, because we’re bringing you the premiere of a lyric video for the new album’s first advance track: “Klymenos Underwrath“.

The new song is a hallmark of what Kronos do so well — delivering torrential, brutalizing death metal with an almost tangible physical power while also crafting memorable melodies that flow through the surrounding carnage like shining waters through a conflagration. Continue reading »