Krosis – Solem Vatem (Review)

Krosis are a modern death metal/deathcore band from the US and this is their second album.

Krosis play thoroughly modern music that takes technical, progressive, and atmospheric influences into its delivery.

A band like The Faceless would be the obvious starting point when considering an album like Solem Vatem. Mix this with some djent and you’ll have a good idea of where Krosis are coming from.

The band’s singer has a good voice, raging from deathgrowls, to harsh shouts, to occasional clean singing. Guests from The Last Ten Seconds of Life and Vulvodynia also appear.

The music on Solem Vatem is bright and sparkly, like a lot of djent tends to be. The sharper, harder components are supplied by the more death metal influences that the band have.

Rich, layered keyboards provide plenty of additional atmosphere, especially when combined with the cosmic leads and solos that frequently appear. Electronica is another clear influence at work occasionally too, as well as certain cinematic quality that appears now and again.

At 56 minutes in length Solem Vatem is on the longer side for this kind of thing, and consequently some of the individual tracks are longer too. This is mainly because the band like to pack a lot into them, with their progressive and atmospheric proclivities powering some of the songs to the far outer reaches of space. This is certainly a good thing, however, and I enjoy it when the band push themselves and start to explore what they’re capable of musically.

There are some good ideas and interesting riffs and soundscapes explored on this album, and it’s clear that Krosis are a band that are ambitious and have high aspirations. Although they don’t always succeed in achieving their lofty goals, they certainly hit more than they miss, and Solem Vatem is a good example of what can be achieved with high expectations and skilled delivery.

Solem Vatem is a solid offering of modern heaviness, with a variety of strengths running across its playing time. Check it out.

Favourite Track: Apothos Vacant. Eight minutes of splendour. Everything comes together just right on this track, and Krosis really shine.