Krakow - Monolith (2009)

Krakow consists of Frode Kilvik, René Misje, Kjartan Grønhaug and Christopher Swahn Zibell. The four-piece was founded by Frode, Kjartan and René in the fall of 2005, and within a couple of months they had already recorded their first three-track demo. Inspired by bands like Mastodon, Iron Maiden and Queens of the Stone Age, Krakow have developed their own unique sound and style on the metal scene, and have been compared to bands like High on Fire. 2007 saw the release of the bands first release, “Dusty Roads EP” (Kontrabande Records), as well as the bands first tour during the fall. Krakow was also invited as support for Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu) as he visited Bergen, Norway. After another gig supporting Norwegian band The Grand, journalist Stig Ødegaard of Scream Magazine stated in his review; “Why haven’t I heard about the band KRAKoW before? Strange, because with so powerful and melodic songs, these guys from Bergen should be more known to the audience.” 2008 was a great year for KRAKOW, played a lot of shows in Norway, and at several festivals, Southern Discomfort Metal Festival in Norway, and Green Christmas Festival in Estonia which was headlined by Lacuna Coil and Enslaved. In November and December KRAKOW did a European tour as special guest to Enslaved. Current line-up Kjartan Grønhaug - Guitar René Misje - Guitar / Vocals Frode Kilvik - Bass / Vocals Christopher Swahn Zibell - Drums Review Martin: Even when looking beyond the curiosity of a Norwegian band being named after a Polish city, and actually one of the nicest cities in Europe at that, it is also relatively rare to encounter Norwegian doom metal bands. Although the influence of psychedelic ex-Vikings Enslaved is hard to miss in Krakow's sound, their debut album, 'Monolith', singlehandedly nullifies the paradoxal from 'Norge' and 'doom'. And doom it is! Instead of committing themselves to a certain subdivision of the (sub-)genre, Krakow more or less cover the whole spectrum in the seven tracks on this album. There is a strong stoner/psychedlic vibe throughout the album, which is hardly surprising given Ivar Bjørnson's involvement, and most of the songs on 'Monolith' do have their postrock compatible moments, but at the same time these four Norwegians aren't exactly shy of throwing some traditional Brum, some good old Yorkshire gloom and some gruff Winter-esque death/doom into the mix. As a result the songs on 'Monolith' offer a lot of variation and differences between some of the individual tracks are substantial. Nevertheless it all sounds remarkably consistent thanks to a distinct use of effect-laden lead guitars, a strong performance by drummer Christopher Swahn Zibell and a keen use of contrast between the two vocalists, blending clean singing with a gruff, Scott Kelly-esque throaty rasp and growls. In general, the use of dreamy lead guitar work and clean vocals makes 'Monolith' a rather accessible album, but it never sounds slick and Krakow do have a few aces up their sleeves with the laid back, twelve minute instrumental title track and the wild, double bass driven 'Oblivious', a track that acknowledges High On Fire as well as Hellhammer as influences. It would however go too far to say that 'Monolith' is without its flawless. Even when ignoring the rather amateurish sleeve artwork, there are several signs that show that this is a debut album. The production could have been just that little bit more gritty and the vocal performance could benefit from some urgency in the delivery. Nevertheless, Krakow have delivered a very impressive first album and it will be extremely interesting to see this band develop. Genre = Stoner / Sludge / Doom Format = mp3 Bit Rate = 320 kbps Track Listing 1. Coronated King 2. Art Of Motion 3. Last 4. Lantern 5. Follow 6. Oblivious 7. Monolith

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