Crown ov Horns
Infernvs Dominatvs
7
Though Crown ov Horns hails from the somewhat exotic (for death metal) location of Malaysia, there is nothing exotic about the music on its debut, Infervs Dominatvs. Crown ov Horns plays plain old regular death metal. The band’s meat and potatoes approach includes all the traditional elements: growling, tremolo riffs, chunky power chords, and a whole lot of double bass, but not much else. Yet, constructed from those same building blocks were pillars of the genre such as Altars of Madness and Cause of Death and The Rack. Infervs Dominatvs does not stand as tall as the aforementioned albums, but it gets the job done well enough.
On up-tempo tracks such as opener “Dethrone the Emperor” and “From Dust to Oblivion”, with their hard-hitting riffs and martial cadence, Crown ov Horns resembles Vader. Unfortunately, Crown of Horns does not quite measure up to Vader in terms of intensity, and Infernvs Dominatvs does not benefit from the typically razor sharp, punchy production of a Vader album. However, much like Vader, Crown ov Horns fires riffs from enough different directions to keep the arrangements interesting, despite the use of strictly conventional techniques.
Crown ov Horns has its greatest success when it deviates from the standard formula. “Warfare and Bloodshed” and “The Machete” are the album’s two longest and slowest-paced tacks, and they provide the necessary space for Crown ov Horns to bring its full weight to bear. “Warfare and Bloodshed” grinds out slow torture reminiscent of Gateways-era Morbid Angel, while “The Machete” is a multi-sectioned piece of varying tempos, bookended by a trudging, hypnotic riff that is a bottomless wellspring of malevolence.
There is nary a moment on Infervs Dominatvs in which Crown ov Horns performs less than adequately, and there are a few flashes of brilliance, but the band, at this point, is missing that indefinable something that could make it truly noteworthy. That Crown ov Horns can play good death metal is beyond dispute, but whether it can play great death metal remains to be seen.
