Krohm is the creation of Numinas, former keyboardist for leading US doomsters Evoken and current drummer in death combo Drawn And Quartered. For the one-man project we’re concerned with here, Numinas (AKA Dario Derna) reproduces a very impressive strain of atmospheric lo-fidelity Black Metal that is worthy of attention. Tempting as it is to dismiss the muse as a ‘Jack of all trades, Master of none’, he actually succeeds in delivering a creepier-than-hell black sound, proving that genre-hopping can work even if the diehards will probably dismiss ‘Crown of the Ancients / Slayer of Lost Martyrs’ as Black-Metal-by-numbers without even listening to it.
As the title implies, this release throws together Krohm’s two demos – the first three tracks are culled from the 2000 demonstration ‘Crown of the Ancients’ and the remainder (which the label lists as ‘bonus’ material) originally appeared as ‘Slayer of Lost Martyrs’ three years earlier. There is a distinct difference in quality between the two volumes of work: ‘Crown’ is vastly superior as it is newer and has also been remastered, while ‘Slayer’ still sounds as subterranean as it did almost a decade ago.
Numinas already self-released the whole collection (albeit with a different running order) in 2001 and the remastered ‘Crown of the Ancients’ was released as an EP by Selbstmord a year later. This has been re-released in the States by Moribund and here we have the same tracks resurfacing again for European consumption courtesy of Unexploded – the only difference now being that ‘Crown…’ comes first and ‘Slayer…’ has been reduced to four tracks simply by joining the intro and ‘Gone Astray’ together.
Considering that what we have here are really just glorified, rehashed demo tracks, I know it sounds as if Krohm is taking the piss on a major scale but – guess what? – this isn’t as much of a rip-off as a cynical would-be investor might be inclined to believe. The ‘Crown of the Ancients’ EP in particular showcases a gifted individual who makes many other one-man Black Metal projects sound like untalented pretenders. The instrumentation is virtually flawless (betraying the man’s experience) and, unsurprisingly, the sumptuous, eerie keys work especially well. Fizzing electric and acoustic strings combine with lacerating and cavernous vocals to paint a dank soundscape. The drumming sounds perfect too – another potential pitfall effortlessly overcome by a multi-talented artist.
It’s hard to believe that this music dates back to a time when Xasthur was just an itch in Satan’s scrotum. Though the sound quality dips somewhat during the latter stages, when proceedings take on a more lo-fi, gurgled and amateurish demeanour (which I found disappointing but some listeners may approve of), this will appeal to all fans of so-called suicidal/depressive Black Metal. Blessed with soaring and dungeon atmosphere, infected by palpable menace and reeking of dark, diseased history, ‘Crown of the Ancients/Slayer of Lost Martyrs’ is for the most part a thing of twisted beauty.
