Kraanium – Slamchosis (Comatose Music)
Thursday, 18th October 2018
It’s not been an easy time for Kraanium in the years following 2015’s Chronicles of Perversion. Vocalist Martin Funderud committed suicide last year (his twin brother Mats is also Kraanium’s guitarist). Slamchosis is the band’s first release with new vocalist Jack Christensen in tow, and with a suitable title, it’s pretty clear the band are ripping up their usual stomping grounds.
No real unexpected surprises to report with Kraanium’s latest. The band has been thoroughly devoted to the brutal/slamming death metal for the last decade (think Devourment) and they continue to simply refine their songwriting and energy. With this sort of music, there are certain expectations that Kraanium fulfill to the best of their ability. The low, inhuman gurgles, the alternating blast-then-slam tempo changes, the massive guitar tone, and yes, the serial killer sound clips and gory/cringe-y song titles and lyrics (“Midget Fucker” and “Larva Infested Cum Sluts” for instance) – they are all here in full force. The sort of thing that fans of the sound will go bananas for, as there’s a rather pristine polish to what Kraanium do. But that being said, it’s another case of tried-and-true slamming death metal. One can practically call out the slams before they arrive, and the same basic set-up exists within the tracks with little to no variation from it.
A pretty cut and dry case of a band continuing to provide the hardcore fans with more of what they crave, Slamchosis will be devoured by that quadrant while probably being ignored by the rest of the metal audience. It’s quite well-done for what it is, and contains a higher songwriting quotient than many similar dime-a-dozen acts, but ultimately the dedication to the purity of the genre keep it from being something more.
