Review: KRAMPUS – 3 Track EP – Kronos’ Heritage (2011)

KRAMPUS – Kronos’ Heritage (2011)
Label – NoiseArt Records

Track Listing
01. Kronos’ Heritage
02. Aftermath
03. My Siege

Italian 8 piece folk death metal band KRAMPUS released last summer their 2nd EP ‘Kronos’ Heritage’. Krampus’ extraordinary use of traditional folk instruments put them in leagues with the great folk musicians around the globe, however unlike many other folk musicians Krampus have introduced a beautiful array of instruments for your listening pleasure including Bagpipes, violins, flutes, whistles, and the much loved Irish Bouzouki. In addition to this they incorporate very heavy metal guitars, strong heart stomping vocals as well as gentle chorus based vocals and powerful melodic keyboards to their array of sounds.

Upon hitting the play button you are immediately thrown into a world of melody and Celtic history. Starting with Kronos’ Heritage, the aggressiveness of vocals and rhythmic pounding puts the listener right in the centre of melodic mayhem. With intriguing passages and cleverly thought out intricacies, this first track put you right in the right mood for the rest of the EP. Throughout the EP, you are thrown back and forth, in and out of melodies that are neatly placed and work so well within the metal environment. All instruments have been combined to produce the most exacting representation of Celtic Folk Metal and this EP doesn’t fail to throw out all the stops at achieving this.

This EP is something special, and the listener is left with the feeling ‘I want more!’ at the end of it.

Beautifully made, excellently mastered.

Reviewed by Dylan Raine

KRAMPUS – Kronos’ Heritage