Not exactly a title we’d expect for someone hyping the occasionally-vaunted metalgaze brand, For Death, Glory, and the End of the World makes Kruger sound like one of those bands who feel the need to use the word “soundtrack” in their album titles, just for that added importance. If anything,For Death, Glory… comes across as an album that just trails the recent works of Cult of Luna, Isis, and Ghost Brigade, with its primarily selling point being that yes indeed, Kruger is heavier than the aforementioned trio.
Early on, the Swiss crew establish the necessary wall of sound needed to make necessary advances, as opener “The Ox” and “Return of the Huns” push along with mostly-effective riffs and a tempo that is anything but pedestrian. The band does itself several favors on “Villains” by unexpectedly sliding in a melodic portion that is a bit Cult of Luna-like, minus the dreamy, occasionally drawn-out tendencies of their Swedish neighbors.
The melodic swirl continues on the brief “Centre,” then on over to album highlight “Our Cemetery is Full of Strangers,” a number that isn’t afraid to use some dainty melodies and some crushing riff and double-bass drumming. “Muscles” and “Dukes of Nothing” follow suit in the heavy department, while album closer “Turpitudes” emerges as perhaps the most full-bodied and aggressive-sounding number of the bunch.
Kruger’s double-fisted, double-barrel take on metalgaze is refreshing, primarily because the band is not blind to what its contemporaries are up to, and they don’t get lazy on us. There’s a lot of snap, bite, and pop to For Death, Glory, and the End of the World and when Kruger’s melodic ideas become fully realized, those damn-heavy moments are going to become…that much heavier. A band to keep an eye on.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)