Craft

Void

Southern Lord 2011

After the early demise of Armagedda, Craft took over the throne of my favorite black metal band from Sweden.  And finally, after a six year wait, Craft deliver an apocalyptic strike of traditional black metal on their new album Void.  In many ways this is the maturation and expansion of themes we saw on the previous album, Fuck The Universe.  Sinister and deviant are the sounds that are conjured as the album opener Serpent Soul gets underway.  Starting with a black n roll groove and bastardly stomp, the track eventually finds its way into fields of rustling melodies, black and lifeless.  Mikael's vocals are grim hostility personified.  A throbbing groove, eerily reminiscent of recent Aura Noir haunts several periods of Come Resonance of Doom.  However the song adds accents that are tinged with sorrow.  Quickening the pace is The Ground Surrenders.  The song's structure and riffing brings to mind Celtic Frost meets Discharge at their most metal.  A corrosive rhythm combines with acidic vocals which leave your skin warped and scarred.  And after a slow build up, a cold black metal melody slashes across the speakers like a clap of thunder in the night sky.  Succumb To Sin batters the listener's ears with a Celtic Frost inspired bouncing riff.  Angular dissonance permeates this track as it shifts through trudging grooves and buried melodic statements.  A stronger, more muscular approach is featured on I Want To Commit Murder.  The shredding riffs and diabolical lead that opens the song are a clenched fist of black metal.  Craft's new album is an ode to traditional black metal with a corruption of stylistic black n roll references.  It's like Sweden's answer to Darkthrone's Sardonic Wrath.  Craft have returned, stronger than ever with possibly the most diverse album.  However you are left with a sense of strict totalitarianism that suffocates you with an abyssic atmosphere.