Crionics-Armageddon's Evolution
Candlelight Records-CDL155-March 8, 2005
By Josh Phillips
Crionics originally formed in 1997 in the land of Poland and released their first recording, Beyond the Blazing Horizon, in 2000. Human Error: Ways to Self Destruction was their debut full-length and Armageddon's Evolution is that album's follow-up. The band plays black metal with a few death metal tendencies and a penchant for synths. The promotional sheet states that this album is for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and Old Man's Child and I would consider that an apt description. In fact, they pretty much hit the nail on the head. Armageddon's Evolution sounds very much like Dimmu Borgir's Spiritual Black Dimensions with added elements of Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. Chances are, if you liked those two albums, you'll like this one, and vice versa. There is even a cover version of Emperor's "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" included on the release and that should give you a good idea of what to expect here.
"Arrival of Non-Parallel Aeons" begins the album and you'll immediately notice the synth elements sprinkled throughout the background. Though the band incorporates these elements, they also have a very aggressive nature and the production is much more biting than most albums of this kind, giving it a more extreme feel. The highlight of the track is a nice, groovy breakdown a little over halfway into the song, which makes it stand out as one of the better pieces of the record. The next two songs showcase very little of interest, but the following piece, a brief instrumental, slows things down from the hyperblast attack and is a much more solid effort. "FFF (Freezing Fields of InFinity)" is the next song and is a little more melodic and groove-based and because of that is one of the album's better cuts. The faster tracks fail to engage my attention, but when the band constructs a more contained piece like this, things start to take shape. The next 4 songs all clock in at around 5 and half minutes or more and these tracks are much more concentrated, well-constructed and enjoyable. Varying the pace occasionally and using the synth elements to better effect. "Disconnected Minds" even showcases a brief clean-vocal segment.
Overall, the material is solid for what it is and if the aforementioned bands rank among your favorites (especially Dimmu Borgir's last three, this falls well short of matching Emperor), you may want to give this a look. Personally, the songs didn't hook me in a very profound way, though they aren't bad by any means. It is fast black metal, laden with keyboards and not a tremendous amount of song variation or moments that would make you stop what you're doing to listen. The second of half of the album showcases longer, better songs and clearly eclipses the first half. Good, with potential to be more.
7/10
Official Crionics Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
Candlelight Records-CDL155-March 8, 2005
By Josh Phillips
Crionics originally formed in 1997 in the land of Poland and released their first recording, Beyond the Blazing Horizon, in 2000. Human Error: Ways to Self Destruction was their debut full-length and Armageddon's Evolution is that album's follow-up. The band plays black metal with a few death metal tendencies and a penchant for synths. The promotional sheet states that this album is for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and Old Man's Child and I would consider that an apt description. In fact, they pretty much hit the nail on the head. Armageddon's Evolution sounds very much like Dimmu Borgir's Spiritual Black Dimensions with added elements of Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. Chances are, if you liked those two albums, you'll like this one, and vice versa. There is even a cover version of Emperor's "The Loss and Curse of Reverence" included on the release and that should give you a good idea of what to expect here.
"Arrival of Non-Parallel Aeons" begins the album and you'll immediately notice the synth elements sprinkled throughout the background. Though the band incorporates these elements, they also have a very aggressive nature and the production is much more biting than most albums of this kind, giving it a more extreme feel. The highlight of the track is a nice, groovy breakdown a little over halfway into the song, which makes it stand out as one of the better pieces of the record. The next two songs showcase very little of interest, but the following piece, a brief instrumental, slows things down from the hyperblast attack and is a much more solid effort. "FFF (Freezing Fields of InFinity)" is the next song and is a little more melodic and groove-based and because of that is one of the album's better cuts. The faster tracks fail to engage my attention, but when the band constructs a more contained piece like this, things start to take shape. The next 4 songs all clock in at around 5 and half minutes or more and these tracks are much more concentrated, well-constructed and enjoyable. Varying the pace occasionally and using the synth elements to better effect. "Disconnected Minds" even showcases a brief clean-vocal segment.
Overall, the material is solid for what it is and if the aforementioned bands rank among your favorites (especially Dimmu Borgir's last three, this falls well short of matching Emperor), you may want to give this a look. Personally, the songs didn't hook me in a very profound way, though they aren't bad by any means. It is fast black metal, laden with keyboards and not a tremendous amount of song variation or moments that would make you stop what you're doing to listen. The second of half of the album showcases longer, better songs and clearly eclipses the first half. Good, with potential to be more.
7/10
Official Crionics Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
