Crown the Lost - Reverence Dies Within
Unsigned - September 13, 2006
By Jack Deming
Crown the Lost is an unsigned band from Pittsburgh that plays a brand of more technically inclined thrash metal that has a refreshing air about it, a quality becoming more and more of a rare commodity in the genre these days. Crown the Lost really know how to write a riff. Honestly. It's fantastic. Very well arranged, great instrumentation, with variety and balance between straight heavy staccato progressions and cascading melodic sequences alike. With each listen I find myself becoming more impressed at how well each song is put together and executed.
The vocals are very Beast era Bruce Dickinson, albeit a tad monotone for my tastes, and as a result can get quite boring by the end of the album. He has decent pipes, but I really wish he would employ a bit more range in his vocal approach, because on a large number of tunes it seems like he never goes up or down more than a whole step from the central tone that he stays on. The songs are peppered with many a guitar solo, and while this dude is more than at home on his instrument, a lot of the wanking is overly repetitive and systematic and at times sounds like an exercise you'd see in an instructional video. There are a few exceptions of course (the solo on 'No Reprieve' for one) and he does a fine job overall, his melodic guitar melodies being the source of many of the catchy bits of the Reverence Dies Within.
The first thing that I usually look for when reviewing music is originality and innovation, and I am finding that these qualities come in many forms. Crown the Lost aren't doing anything immediately different than their peers, but they are an example of a rare group that does their thing so well that as a listener you can't help but appreciate what they create. When something is done right, you can't really go wrong. This a very solid release and a great start for a young band that I am sure will only improve in the years to come.
Official Crown the Lost Website
Unsigned - September 13, 2006
By Jack Deming
Crown the Lost is an unsigned band from Pittsburgh that plays a brand of more technically inclined thrash metal that has a refreshing air about it, a quality becoming more and more of a rare commodity in the genre these days. Crown the Lost really know how to write a riff. Honestly. It's fantastic. Very well arranged, great instrumentation, with variety and balance between straight heavy staccato progressions and cascading melodic sequences alike. With each listen I find myself becoming more impressed at how well each song is put together and executed.
The vocals are very Beast era Bruce Dickinson, albeit a tad monotone for my tastes, and as a result can get quite boring by the end of the album. He has decent pipes, but I really wish he would employ a bit more range in his vocal approach, because on a large number of tunes it seems like he never goes up or down more than a whole step from the central tone that he stays on. The songs are peppered with many a guitar solo, and while this dude is more than at home on his instrument, a lot of the wanking is overly repetitive and systematic and at times sounds like an exercise you'd see in an instructional video. There are a few exceptions of course (the solo on 'No Reprieve' for one) and he does a fine job overall, his melodic guitar melodies being the source of many of the catchy bits of the Reverence Dies Within.
The first thing that I usually look for when reviewing music is originality and innovation, and I am finding that these qualities come in many forms. Crown the Lost aren't doing anything immediately different than their peers, but they are an example of a rare group that does their thing so well that as a listener you can't help but appreciate what they create. When something is done right, you can't really go wrong. This a very solid release and a great start for a young band that I am sure will only improve in the years to come.
Official Crown the Lost Website
