Krakow (who are, confusingly enough, Norwegian) ditched the blues influence of their stoner debut for post-metal second album Diin, sounding more like Cult Of Luna’s more contemplative moments going quietly insane.
On their third outing, amaran, they appear to have ditched generic conventions entirely in favour of making the most downright weird atmosphere they can while remaining heavy.
amaran superficially sounds restrained; the time signatures are not that odd, and while there are deliciously claustrophobic harmonic intervals, there’s no great dissonance or atonality on display. But focus on what you’re hearing and the tortured neurosis underlying it all becomes more apparent. It’s to Krakow’s credit that they keep that hidden for so long, only letting the full fury slip for a few moments, and otherwise are prepared to brood. Although this does increase the tension level, the trade-off is that the expected catharsis never quite comes, even in the brief moment of vitriol in closer Ten Silent Circles. Ultimately, the quirky, atmospheric ingenuity of amaran outweighs any lack of satisfaction.
Via Dark Essence
