I have a question for you; If you take Death Metal mixed with the Melodic variety and then add Folk Metal to it all, could you imagine how that would sound? Well, I have an answer for you: The only thing you have to do is listen to CROWEN to find out. They are a Finnish band from Tampere, and have been making their own brand of noise since 2019. Before now they released an EP in 2021 called “Prophecy”. On 12-12-2024 they decided it was time for another EP to be let loose on the world, and the result is now playing through my speakers. “Where The Darkness Falls” is 24:44 minutes of musical prowess by a band that feels they have a point to prove.

Let me start by saying that any Death Metal fan, but also any Folk Metal fan will find enough pointers to be able to enjoy what CROWEN is offering us on “Where The Darkness Falls”. What I like most about all of this is the fact that the band can effortlessly change from Folk Metal vibes to blastbeat speed Death Metal, followed by Melodic Death Metal. And you can mix these three musical genres in any way you like, CROWEN has it down to perfection. What helps to emphasise the heaviness of the music is the use of Classical and Gothic elements in some of the intros, like in “Dark Forever”. They will not prepare you for the onslaught that is coming your way once the band takes over.

And yes, there is more good news to be had. Not only is CROWEN proficient in exchanging musical styles at random and exactly at the right times, they also have mastered the ability to write and produce bloody good songs. All six of them on “Where The Darkness Falls” make sense from start to finish and somehow, when they enter your brain via your ears, the sounds stay embedded in there. That, my friends is a sure fired way to distinguish a good piece of music from an excellent one. It stays with you and refuses to let go. CROWEN has gotten to that stage with “Where The Darkness Falls”. And that is what puts this album above a lot of those of their peers and/or colleagues. As far as I’m concerned it is time for CROWEN to be brave and give us a full album, although I would be just as happy if they continue giving us great EPs in the vein of “Where The Darkness Falls”.