Coming at you with an intriguing combination of industrial and melodic metal sensibilities, Kryoburn returns for their sophomore release Three Years Eclipsed. Their first album, Enigmatic Existence, was a fine debut that gave a different take on modern metal that lives up to be a whole lot better than what other like types are putting out these days. Their latest is a simple, yet effective piece of melody and brute force.
“Broken Hero” kicks the disc off, with its smooth keyboards creating a comforting aura, emphasizing the brutal guitar/drum attack that accompanies. The variance between clean and growling vocals is welcome and performed seamlessly, with the transitions between the two feeling very natural. “Burning the Doubt” immediately follows, with the mix of both vocal styles being sung at the same time being pleasing approach that adds that little extra something to the song
. The jumping from brutal to melodic is pulled off nicely here – as is with the whole album. Certainly nice to see a band that can pull this off without sounding forced and predictable, isn’t it? Other highlights include the powerful and in-your-face “Event Horizon,” the keyboard-driven and epic “Introspective,” and the varied and at times haunting beast “Reinvention.”
There is some extreme down tuning in the guitars much of the time, which works in line with what the band is trying to do. Usually, such down tuning can be a major irritant, but it can be used in many positive ways in the right situation. Kryoburn is one such band that makes it work. Most impressive is the band’s sense of melody, which puts these guys on a different level. It’s not over the top, nor is it too slight to make an impact. It’s perfectly sprinkled throughout, portraying a group with keenly developing composition skills.
Kryoburn simply get it. They make a brand of music that hasn’t had a whole lot of differentiation, and manage to twist out their own style and niche. Nor are they completely reinventing their style either – rather, Kryoburn refine it. Every song has something different to offer, but all have similar elements that keep the album flowing and unified. Not a whole lot to complain about here – Three Years Eclipsed is a straightforward modern metal record that pulls no punches.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)