Album Details

• Artist: Crom
• Album: Vengeance
• Label: Pure Steel
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2009-02-03

In much the same vein as Bathory's early Viking-Metal pioneering albums, Crom's Vengeance should be and seemingly is reinventing the wheel. A little backround? Crom used to play guitar in metal notables Dark Fortress before withdrawling to concentrate totally on his self-named "side" project. After some demos and years of refining the sound, this one-man band finally found a deal with Pure Steel records and unleashed Vengeance onto an unsuspecting world. And the world is listening!

The sound pays homage to the originators of pure melodic and bombastically epic power metal, the Iron Maidens and Judas Priests, all the while using the atypical "Warrior with sword and shield" motif that most metal of this ilk utilizes. The only difference is, Crom injects so much personal ingenuity and creativity into the mix that you feel like you're discovering metal again for the very first time. You'll notice the chills around your spine right from the bat, as the choir chanting and up-tempo riffage of opener "Wings of Fire" sets the stage for what's to come. Crom has a voice that was made for this type of music, and a talented multi-instrumentalist such as him should be more than proud of his vocal abilities. The monumental "The Restless King" follows and, through the usage of more choir chanting and a delicious mid-paced bridge section, the chills continue. "Crom" is a heavenly little acoustic interlude, where Crom trades vocals with himself in majestic fashion. One of the highlights of the album is certainly the two-part title track, which altogether clocks in at close to 10 minutes of pure metal bliss. 

You'll want to stick around for the 2nd half of the album, as well. All things considered, it's amazing an act like this isn't being talked about more; but that should change very soon. If you're reading this, I hold you obligated, metal fan or not, to check out at least one track from Vengeance. I believe it's the kind of record that introduces new faces to an entirely different type of music than they're used to, and leaves them wanting more and more. Consider the wheel reinvented. 

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