Over 30 years of bringing their own brand of Death Metal to the world, Brazilian trio Krisiun remain as ferociously vital today as they did when scratching out their debut demo Evil One way back in 1991. The band are back with album number 12, Mortem Solis.
Krisiun – Mortem Solis (Century Media)
Release Date: 29 July 2022
Words: Paul Hutchings
The trio of Alex Carmargo, bass/vocals, guitarist Moyses Kolesne and drummer Max Kolesne have released 11 previous albums, the last being 2018s Scourge Of The Enthroned.
Their 12th, Mortem Solis, unsurprisingly maintains the format that the band have turned into their own template. Blending those early influences of Sodom, Kreator and Slayer with the likes of Entombed, this is a 43-minute Death Metal onslaught that is relentless from start to finish.
It’s not until track four, Necronomical, that the pace slows, moving from face-melting to a slower, more measured delivery which brings a heaviness that stomps rather than the intensity of the first few songs.
It doesn’t last though, the band slowly ramping up the tempo, Max’s drumming moving from fast to insane with very little effort. Prior to this, the opening track and recent single Sworn Enemies starts the release in a typically brutal and bruising fashion.
Krisiun are uncompromising and at this stage in their musical journey are surely writing for themselves and not anyone else. It’s evident that their love of the barrage of blast beats and down-tuned low ends won’t change, and the only thing that one wonders when listening to Mortem Solis is whether the intensity and extremity that surges through this band will ever be tempered. I think we know the answer.
Dismissing Death Metal can be a pastime that many Metal fans play, but despite the unrelenting assault, the musicianship is top class with Moyses guitar razor-sharp. The brief respite in the native drums of Dawn Sun Carnage is just that, for the composition is eerie and ominous rather than restful. As it fades you steel yourself for a further aural onslaught which soon arrives, in the shape of the powerful Temple Of The Abattoir which broods for the opening passage before unleashing another dark waterfall of riffage.
Unsurprisingly the lyrical content and song titles aren’t for the faint-hearted [or fans of Steel Panther]. War Blood Hammer and As Angels Burn leave little to the imagination. It’s punishment in its purest form – with the latter slicing and lacerating with clinical precision. It’s not an album for the faint-hearted.
Holding their direction is something that Krisiun have managed successfully for over three decades. They may not be a household name, and they may not get that many likes, but their honesty and sheer intensity are something that few bands can maintain.
It’s a worthy addition to a catalogue that stands alongside most of their peers with ease.
