(Today, our guest contributor Misha clues us in on an Idaho extreme metal band called Kryterium.)

Boise, Idaho isn’t the richest of extreme metal environments, and I’ll be the first to attest to that. Sadly, few extreme acts originate from the State of Idaho period, notwithstanding the greater population numbers in what we locals call the Treasure Valley.

Of those few bands, fewer still are actually signed to record labels. Kryterium is one of those few bands. Formed in 2006, Kryterium has shared the stage with numerous extreme bands. I know that saying you shared the stage with a different band is like saying you once made a skiing trip to Sun Valley, where Bruce Willis purportedly owns a home. What Kryterium shares in common with those in the substantial list of bands is extreme metal. I’m not going to waste precious time and space by name-dropping every band they’ve played with, but I can list some of the notables like the following: Darkest Hour, Suffocation, Necrophagist, Dying Fetus, Pyscroptic, The Acacia Strain, Incantation, Samael. For all the good that list does, Kryterium cannot truly be compared with any of them.

I would describe Kryterium’s music as a chunky brand of groove metal mingled with elements of grindcore and death metal.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »