Krohm
The Haunting Presence
8.9
Black metal sure ain't what it used to be.
Bands like Xasthur, Blut aus Nord, Wolves in the Throne Room, Deathspell Omega, Negura Bunget...they are changing the face of and our perceptions of what black metal truly is. Now, with their latest release, The Haunting Presence, Krohm has joined the hallowed ranks of those who dare to think beyond a blaze in the northern sky and past the freezing moon. Haunting, cold, and utterly desolate, they will drag you down into the depths of despair and show you what evil really is.
Krohm is the solo project of Dario Derna, whose time spent in acts like Abazagorath, Evoken, and Drawn & Quartered has left him well-versed in the many-faceted nature of extremity. He has stated that his intention in forming this project was to bring back the traditional Scandinavian black metal sound of the early ‘90s, and with The Haunting Presence, has managed to not only achieve but to surpass this modest goal. I love me my Second Wave as much as the next gal, but honestly, Krohm songs tend to be a helluva lot more interesting than a good deal of that scene’s musical output. The songwriting on this record is damn near impeccable, with seven tracks of midpaced, melodically-inclined BM that brings to mind the latest Forest Silence album, or a (much, much better-produced) Lugubrum. The fuzzy grimness of the production would surely bring a knob-twiddler of Bob Rock’s caliber to tears, but the foggy, desolate vibe it creates is exactly what this record needed. Derna is obviously a talented musician who can not only play his instruments, he can play them well, and somehow manages to coax a good amount of very real emotion from his strings and keys.
Krohm has definitely got what it takes to be the “next big thing” to shake up the black metal world (though considering the mindfuckingly experimental direction the genre has been taking these past few years, I don't know how much more shaking up poor ol' BM can take!). The Haunting Presence is definitely worth checking out, and already a contender for my year-end top ten. Awesome album.
