Finally the long wait for the highly anticipated debut full-length from Krohm has ended. Since the release of its EP ‘Crown of the Ancients’, this American one-man project has built a sturdy reputation in the deepest regions of the Black Metal scene. So my expectations for ‘A World Through Dead Eyes’ were very high.
With the song ‘I suffer the Astral Woe’ the album immediately starts with a very solid piece of pure annihilating mid-tempo played dirty Black Metal. This is done in a way we’re used to hear from Numinas’ fellow-countrymen of Leviathan and Xasthur; which means long repeating riffs, dazzling guitar-pickings and a very sinister atmosphere. With this track the level of intensity for the rest of the album is set.
The second song; ‘A lurking dream’, is even better than its predecessor. This little masterpiece has an atmosphere that is so ominous that psychically you will be taken to another dimension; a deep black dimension. The guitar-riffs are cold, strengthened by even colder screams and halfway through the song by a very effective Burzumish, ‘Filosofem’-alike keyboard melody. During some other moments on the album Numinas included more keyboard-sounds, mostly on the background of the track, just to add some extra atmosphere.
Even though all of the seven lengthy songs on ‘A World Through Dead Eyes’ are played in almost the same tempo and style, they never bore me, although I can imagine some people will get bored by the monotonous sound. I think the similar sound of all songs is just very positive, it brings you in the right state of mind thanks to the many hallucinating guitar-riffs, the simple yet effective drums, the moaning vocals and most of all the great impassable song-structures.
It takes some time to get into this shrine of desolation, yet it will be worth it! With ‘A World Through Dead Eyes’ we have received another very strong release from the USA; I think it isn’t overdone to say that 2004 is the year of the American (underground) Black Metal. The top of the USBM scene nowadays is dominated by bands like Nachtmystium, Xasthur, Leviathan, Krieg, Weltmacht and with the release of this outstanding album Krohm has surely gained a place in this list.
