Beat Alley

Nowadays, when the word ‘metal’ is used to describe a genre of music, the first thing that usually comes to mind is snarly, incoherent singing and loud, slamming drums accompanied by a fast distorted guitar. If you are a fan, this might seem like face melting bliss, but let’s face it, this does not appeal to everyone; in fact, I would venture to say that it doesn’t appeal to more people than it does. Anymore, you can’t even say that you like plain old metal because it has so many subcategories that the long-hair that lives in the basement will ask you to elaborate with something like Black Metal, or Hardcore, or, heaven forbid, Pop-Metal (oxymoronic or just moronic? You be the judge…;).

Me, I am a fan of what I like to call Pure Metal, I know this sounds like a compilation album of hair band power ballads that you purchase off of late night infomercials, but hear me out. This is not a recognized distinction of the genre, and it encompasses more than one of the subgroups. I consider it to be a more classic form of metal than that which is popular at this moment. I tend to enjoy being able to understand almost all of the lyrics and if you have a talented singer that is able to lilt as well as scream, the emotion is taken to another level. I also think that there is nothing sexier than a shredding guitar solo amid crunching riffs and tumbling drum fills.

I think that I have created a perfect niche that fits the style of Crown the Lost entirely. They have elements of 80’s thrash speed and transitions, harmonic vocals and guitar styling not uncommon on a Priest or Maiden album, and the earsplitting scream that symbolizes the modern evolution of the genre. They accelerate with a battering riff that crashes into a flow of melodious guitars, and then they are able to combine the two sounds to create an aggressive tune that evolves the song.

Slated for release on July 19, 2011, Crown the Lost has put forth the album Cold Pestilent Hope through Gas Can Music. It is a loud and crunching album complete with evil and dark lyrics. The song of focus, Separate Blood from Waste, is no exception. The beginning scratching rip of the guitar riff immediately seizes the listener who is subsequently drawn further into the abattoir when the second guitar comes in with a spiraling solo that culminates in a wailing vocal. This vocal is the main thread of the entire album; it is supported by a sort of gang vocal that appears as a snarl along with a throaty roar that emphasizes the malevolent nature of the songs.

A good metal song, and entire album for that matter, reminds me of a factory full of machinery churning at full capacity. Mechanical parts grinding and slamming in a driving rhythm that is absolute and unstoppable, it is loud and dirty with choking smoke, flying sparks, oozing grease, and dancing flames. There is a symphonic flow to the way the parts work together, it is beautiful chaos with the parts working together to create a melody from the pandemonium, a crimson rose growing in ashes. The instrumental Solitude and Failure could be this place.

For the most part, Crown the Lost has crafted a fine album. They have a haunting sound with their harmonized lyrics and guitars, shredding solos and a throbbing, continuous backbeat, although the transitions can be bit awkward at times. In a genre where incoherent screaming has become the norm, it is refreshing to hear someone actually making an effort to sing and by doing so, pay homage to the legends that created today's heavy metal sound. It sounds like a pleasant blast from the 80's metal past...the good aspects, not the indulgent, self glorifying, cross dressing, hair stuff.