Crematory- Infinity
Germany's Crematory have been around for some time, debuting in 1992 with their album "Transmigration" and then releasing about eight other studio albums until reaching 2010 with "Infinity". Comparing the two, "Transmigration" was a lot rawer where "Infinity" is more modern, thanks to cleaner production and a better range of electronic sound. With their newest album the band has perfected their melodic gothic death metal sound through catchy rhythms, dual vocals, and an extensive use of keyboards. Think Katatonia meets Scar Symmetry and you pretty much have a pretty good idea of where Crematory stand at the moment.
"Infinity" opens up with the title track; a melodic monster that offers a few surprises. The guitars have that gothenburg tone to them, the vocals trade between semi growled and harmonic clean vocals, and the synth and keyboards add plenty of atmosphere. There's even some female vocals in the background that make the music sound even better; sadly they only are shown on this one song. The following track is a bit slower than "Infinity", mostly because it is strongly keyboard influenced and holding melodies that are similar to the recent work of melodic death metal masters, Dark Tranquility, hence the gothenburg sound. The clean vocals sound very majestic here and the growled vocals are even done in more of a harsh spoken word tone which adds even more to the gothic elements. The Depeche Mode cover of "Black Celebration" still holds true to the 80s band's original electronic intent, but Crematory turn up the guitars and add their own metal flare to make the music sound melodically heavy and suitable for almost any metal fan without tarnishing the original influence.
Not everything on "Infinity" is about being heavy, though. "Broken Halo" is one of the slowest tracks on the album with the guitars in focus on string picking rather than chords and the drums being set to a percussive trance. The keyboards are extremely symphonic here and the use of having both the vocals singing rather than the alternative sing/ growl is even better than the latter. Of course, if they say opposites attract it must be true because Crematory decided to make the following track one of their heaviest, with "Where Are You Now?" being extremely guitar focussed and have heavy, crunching riffs that sound more like thrash rather than melodic death or gothic. It just goes to show the band knows how to show both ends of the spectrum while also meeting in the middle with the rest of the other tracks. However, the final track- the only one in the band's native germanic language- is the best example of how heavy and soft meet in the middle. Everything on this track is about melody with the guitars and vocals, and the keyboards sound more classical than electronic. Much more real, much more effective.
Fans of Borknagar, Soilwork and Scar Symmetry will find a strong liking to this album. It's no surprise as most of Crematory's records were on the Nuclear Blast label before they switched to Massacre. Whether they drew influence from their fellow label bands or not remains to be seen, but it is obvious they are a strongly melodic band that are just as good, if not better, than their counterparts. Melodic death metal certainly has a reigning point in Germany thanks to these guys.
"Infinity" opens up with the title track; a melodic monster that offers a few surprises. The guitars have that gothenburg tone to them, the vocals trade between semi growled and harmonic clean vocals, and the synth and keyboards add plenty of atmosphere. There's even some female vocals in the background that make the music sound even better; sadly they only are shown on this one song. The following track is a bit slower than "Infinity", mostly because it is strongly keyboard influenced and holding melodies that are similar to the recent work of melodic death metal masters, Dark Tranquility, hence the gothenburg sound. The clean vocals sound very majestic here and the growled vocals are even done in more of a harsh spoken word tone which adds even more to the gothic elements. The Depeche Mode cover of "Black Celebration" still holds true to the 80s band's original electronic intent, but Crematory turn up the guitars and add their own metal flare to make the music sound melodically heavy and suitable for almost any metal fan without tarnishing the original influence.
Not everything on "Infinity" is about being heavy, though. "Broken Halo" is one of the slowest tracks on the album with the guitars in focus on string picking rather than chords and the drums being set to a percussive trance. The keyboards are extremely symphonic here and the use of having both the vocals singing rather than the alternative sing/ growl is even better than the latter. Of course, if they say opposites attract it must be true because Crematory decided to make the following track one of their heaviest, with "Where Are You Now?" being extremely guitar focussed and have heavy, crunching riffs that sound more like thrash rather than melodic death or gothic. It just goes to show the band knows how to show both ends of the spectrum while also meeting in the middle with the rest of the other tracks. However, the final track- the only one in the band's native germanic language- is the best example of how heavy and soft meet in the middle. Everything on this track is about melody with the guitars and vocals, and the keyboards sound more classical than electronic. Much more real, much more effective.
Fans of Borknagar, Soilwork and Scar Symmetry will find a strong liking to this album. It's no surprise as most of Crematory's records were on the Nuclear Blast label before they switched to Massacre. Whether they drew influence from their fellow label bands or not remains to be seen, but it is obvious they are a strongly melodic band that are just as good, if not better, than their counterparts. Melodic death metal certainly has a reigning point in Germany thanks to these guys.
- Infinity
- Sense of Time
- Out of Mind
- Black Celebration (Depeche Mode)
- Never Look Back
- Broken Halo
- Where Are You Now?
- A Story About...
- No One Knows
- Auf der Flucht
Massacre Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Apr 13, 2010
Apr 13, 2010
Next review:
Way To End - Desecrated Internal Journey
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