Black Crown Initiate
Violent Portraits Of Doomed Escape – Century Media Records
‘This is nice’, thinks Devo, sat in a sunny spot, complete with snoozing Labrador and fancy reed diffuser that actually smells really pleasant, while enjoying the gentle guitars and sweet vocals of ‘Invitation’. It’s worth listening to ‘Violent Portraits Of Doomed Escape’ just to imagine the carnage that ensues approximately 1.30 minutes in, when all hell breaks loose musically – scaring Devo and dog, and causing cups of tea, paws and cushions to scatter everywhere. Clean up operation aside, that’s very much the joy of this record – you never know what’s coming next. Rock, doom, clean singing, chanting – it’s all here. Track by track. Note by note even. As a progressive death metal album, this is very much at the top end of the scale in terms of music, vision and accessibility. That said, you may not want to play it to your Zac Efron obsessed niece. Or maybe you will, come to think of it. We’ll leave it to your discretion.
Black Crown Initiate – Facebook
Review by Jo Wright