Crematory - Pray |
Published March 16 2008
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When Darkness Falls* |
| Genre | Gothic/Atmospheric Metal |
Felix Stass
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 10 |
Matthias Hechler
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 48 Min. |
Harald Heine
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Guitar
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| Label | Massacre Records |
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Bass
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| Release | 01 Feb. 2008 |
Markus Jüllich
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Drums
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| Country | Germany |
Katrin Jüllich
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Keyboard
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| Similar artists | --- | ||
I was quite the fan of the german band Crematory in the beginning of the 90's but I lost track, or rather interest, of them around the time of the new millenium. It had all become a bit too saggy and stale for me and I thought they would from there on just remain a somewhat pleasant memory. It is with great pleasure I listen to their new album Pray and hear a fresh and bombastic album with all ingredients not only intact from the glory days, but taken to even greater levels. Since I have not heard their previous four albums, apart from a lousy single a few years ago, I have no idea if this is how they have sounded throughout their career or if it's a newfound energy, but I will sure check the matter up.
They set the tone right away with the solid When Darkness Falls which elegantly glides over in the equally good Left The Ground. Both great tunes clad in a fat production and the semi-growling vocals from Felix Stass are lifting the songs to great heights. Alone is a song that I am pretty indifferent to, but they pick it up again with the great title track Pray. Sleeping Solution and Just Words are captivating songs with great ambience and nice atmosphere. Burning Bridges takes the speed up a notch while maintaining the high level of songwriting. There is a good balance between the metal elements, the keyboard parts and the more melodic and melancholic refrains.
The second half of the album holds up just as good as the first and it is a very solid album with songs that seeem to grow on to you slowly but surely the more you listen to it and Say Goodbye rounds everything off in a very good way. The songs are overall intense and overwhelming while still very laid back and the great, clear and fat production is a big factor to this.
Most people might call this Gothic Metal, and are indeed
doing so, but I think there is too much "metal" in this to
justify that simple description. The great heavy riffing and the vocals
are making it a bit more than that. I would simply call it metal of
the heavier kind in a mid pace, containing very atmospheric yet subtle
keyboard elements and great mixed vocals of the common dark/clean kind,
where the latter ones are courtesy of guitarist Matthias Hechler. I
am happily surprised to hear Crematory still delivering on this level.
They are certainly one of the better bands in the genre at the moment
and this is one of the best albums I have heard from them.
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Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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8 |
7 |
9 |
7,5 |
7,5 |
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Summary
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7,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy |
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