A creative mixture of power metal and Viking metal is combined heavily by the band Crom. The German outfit have released their new album, entitled “Of Love And Death.” It contains lots of mixed emotions as you will comes across some very up beat catchy tunes along with some slower, sad melodies at the same time. The vocals are performed with lots of energy which definitely helps keep you hooked throughout the entire album.
The opening track is “Reason To Live” which starts with an upbeat drum pattern along with a catchy guitar riff that will have you bobbing your head immediately. The verses are full of clean vocals that have power metal tones. Double bass drumming slows kicks in to help build up to the chorus. Heavy chugging guitars blast away in the background as you are swept away with catchy lyrics. A calm lightly distorted guitar solo takes over after the chorus giving off gorgeous vibes throughout each note. The final refrain of the song is joined by a deep growling vocal that adds aggressive Viking metal tones to the song. It really keeps the track refreshing. “Lifetime” also opens with a catchy guitar rif only this time it is an acoustic guitar. It is also accompanied by chanting vocals in the background. The verse starts out soft with just vocals and acoustic chords. This quickly changes half way through with blaring guitars that are full of distortion. They carry a very likable melody all the way through even into the refrain. You’re definitely going to be replaying this track a few times.
Leaning more towards the sad tones of the album, songs like “Just One Blink” and “My Song For All The Broken Hearts” consists of said love lyrics and beautifully mellow guitar riffs. They go back and forth between acoustic guitars and electric guitars often leaving you with mixed feelings throughout the song. The vocals are fantastic as they are delivered in a solid manor. No crazy operatic notes, just some clear singing with enjoyable lyrics. Even “My Destiny” has some incredible vocal delivery especially in the verses. The whole structure of the track flows together so well and keeps you humming along through all six minutes of the track.
“This Dying World” continues with the angelic acoustic guitar riffs and is also accompanied by light chanting in the background. The heavy guitar riffs that follow will knock you down with their fast chugging patterns and snapping kicks and snares. The lead guitar sings to you with more beautiful notes. This leads you right into the verse which has nothing but clean vocals and acoustic chords behind them. The drums don’t come back in until after the verse is over. The chorus reintroduces the distorted guitar riffs which completely take over the melody. This is another great track that you’ll find yourself singing along immediately. “Eternal Dreaming” follows this track and is basically a two minute and 50 second instrumental of more ravishing acoustic guitar melodies. I could seriously play this track over and over again and never get sick of it.
The band includes a bonus track at the end, entitled “The Fallen Beauty.” This gorgeous masterpiece contains some astonishing vocals that hit high and low notes throughout the refrain and sound amazing. Electrifying distorted guitars are relentless as they are constantly being slammed in the background. They also include a while guitar solo in which the vocals continue to sing over and really keeps the track even. This is definitely the way to end such a moving album.
Crom really gets a lot of use out of the acoustic guitars throughout the album keeping the mood soothing and yet at the same time they crush you with wicked distorted guitars and booming drum patterns. The guitar solos will rock you to sleep with their catchy and yet calm melodies. “Of Love And Death” is definitely worth a listen. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself replaying the entire album a couple times in a row. It’s that good.
9/10
Official Site - http://www.croms-revenge.de/
Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/cromsrevenge
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