Krolok - Funeral Winds and Crimson Sky (2022)
By Flork!
Released not too long ago, Funeral Winds and Crimson Sky by the Slovak trio Krolok is an atmospheric 6-track album that transports listeners to the woods of the Carpathian mountains, an ancient land where the secrets and rituals of the trees and hills are hidden beneath the world on the surface, which is inhabited by wolves, ghosts, vampires, and castle ruins. There is a lingering darkness in these woods, a magical beauty in a scary sort of way, where despite the season, the soft rays of the sun penetrate the forest and create an eerie cathedral effect. Krolok masterfully captures this light-glow in many of their songs, which are interspersed with moments of drama and spooky suspense. This is especially heard in the opening track Black Lore of the Fens, where the keyboards build their quiet suspense up to a crescendo of guitars and heavy drums. The keyboards, by the way, remain up front with the guitars and play an important role throughout the album, often complementing the mid-pace tempo of the melodies. There is no heavy bass sound in any of the tracks, just dark energy with moments of suspense and intensity provided by the keyboard, much like an old Bela Lugosi film with pounding organs and echoes - the cathedral effect is reproduced and visualised through the music.
But of course, there is also a wealth of old school black metal that is heard in Towards The Duskportals and The Reptile Abyss Beneath Dowina. Both of these tracks evoke images of dusk falling over the hills, where the cold serenity and safety of the day is replaced by the haunting of the figures lurking behind the trees. Time to get home quickly and lock your doors and windows. Night is beginning and the ghosts and bats are outside revelling in the darkness of the supernatural. High speed drums take over in Unveiled Subterranean Treasures, a great track with amazing studio production that evokes the feeling of a nightmare where you are lost in the woods with nothing to keep you warm or defend yourself. This track abandons the sanctity of the cathedral altogether with surges of fast-paced fury and chaos. All you can do is hide under the covers and pray that it will all be gone by morning.
Like their previous full-length album Flying Above Ancient Ruins (2017), Funeral Winds and Crimson Sky is just a little over 35 minutes, but equally atmospherically charged with emphasis on the quality of the compositions rather than quantity and length. Overall, it is an interesting mix of traditional black metal with elements of homegrown Czech and Slovak black metal that derives heavily from folklore and legends. This is a great band to check out if you are a black metal enthusiast, especially if you like atmospheric music and crave originality. Funeral Winds and Crimson Sky is available on CD with a limited run that includes an 8-page booklet. It’s also available on cassette and download from the bandcamp website.
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