Crowned - Vacuous Spectral Silence - review
Crowned - Vacuous Spectral Silence - review
Tracklist
01. Menelvagor02. Journey To The Cross-roads
03. Firmament
04. Apocryphal Catacomb
05. Diamonds
06. Vacuous Spectral Silence
A review by
Boxcar Willy October 27, 2012
Now let's start over. Now that it's 2012, much has changed, however the formula still remains. Crowned plays 90's black metal in this new millennium; the music is vicious. The buzz saw riffs, pounding blastbeats, and mournful growls, mix together similar to their 90's forefathers, almost a little too much at certain times. The music is extremely well done, however it feels soulless, and empty, and not in a good, black metal way. I had trouble connecting with the music, always feeling that it was just skin-deep, and nothing more.
That being said, the music itself is exceptionally well done. The drumming is quick, and tight. The guitars are droning, monotonous, and hateful. The vocals are raspy, and loathsome. It all comes together in a package showcasing the bitterness of it all. The tremolo laden riffs will make you question why you even get out of bed. The drums will hammer you into submission, just like a fourth grade bully. The vocals are the decision that you just can't take it anymore, and it's time to go?
The songs do, however, tend to get repetitive after the near hour of similar song writing. The riffs become predictable and the drumming becomes a little too monotonous. But looking back at the Peaceville Trio, or Varg's earlier work, you can easily overlook the fact that it may be just a slight bit too long, as we do with the other black metal classics. In conclusion, this is definitely one to look forward to if you're a fan of black metal, or even just extreme metal in general.
1990's black metal in 2012.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Boxcar Willy | October 27, 2012
Comments
Comments:
15
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Good review. I hear what you mean about it being a little empty, but still well-done music. I enjoyed this debut and loved the nostalgic vibe. Their previous demo was featured in the Clandestine Cuts earlier this year, reviewed by Troy. Nice to see how far they've come 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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Thanks guys/gal 
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I logged in and saw that you had a front page review and thought "Holy shit, wtf?! Did he get bumped to Contributor and I missed that discussion?!".  Seriously though, nice review. I haven't listened to this but the review gives me a good sense of what to expect so I'll probably check it out when I get home and see if my expectation holds true. Congrats on the front page review.
---- ~Zep, Former Database and Forum Moderation~ 
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| Fredd
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Posts: 9568 Written by Uldreth on 28.10.2012 at 02:19 Thanks! And Yeah, don't think it'd be up your alley haha
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*Goes on MS* hey a front page review by BoxCar da fuq? Hey it's Crowned (a band from my relatively small city where I know all the members personally and been to/played multiple gigs with) double da fuq! On a serious note I LOVED the demo by these guys, I've only heard one song off of this album and thought it strayed from the demo sound a bit too much, anyways I will definitely have to give a proper listen. Nice review man .
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Posts: 293
Good review. This is the kind of stuff I do; so I'll be checking it out. Stay Metal!
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Posts: 1239
Congrats Willy, and great review. However, I'm not really longing for those old days right now, so I'll pass. But I'll keep it in mind for when I get a dirty raw black craving again. 
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Posts: 6941 Written by Timmeh on 28.10.2012 at 04:10 Small world!! 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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Nice job on the front page! Sounds like the kind of Black metal I usually avoid but I can't get enough of that album cover, might give it a try sometime considering they're Aussies. 
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Posts: 4193 Written by R'Vannith on 29.10.2012 at 04:26 and their entire album streams online right now [for a limited time], click HERE and scroll down a bit.
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