The birthplace of Satanic subculture, Norway has become infamous for its hell-spawned musicians who have gone on to form the most blasphemous bands in the Heavy Metal world, including SATYRICON, DARKTHRONE, and IMMORTAL. Following these legendary footsteps, KRAKE has finally unleashed their debut album entitled "Conquering Death".In Norway, the word "Kråke" means "Crow", and it is symbolic for Death but also for wisdom.  While I may continue to have some trouble connecting these two contrasting connections, what I certainly didn't struggle with was enjoying the hell out of this album.

"A Murder of Crows" opens the album as slowly and majestically as the parting of grand opera curtains. Thus one expects the rest of the songs to fall in line with DIMMU BORGIR or DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS, both bands which have made extravagant use of symphonies.  KRAKE's album is nowhere near the same thing. Granted, there are mild orchestrations included in a few songs like "Snowfall", which melodically painted the picture in my mind of a vast snowy Norwegian Christmas. But this band put a lot more thought into their debut than just the orchestration to make their album Herculean in proportions. What makes this album a work of art is the artistic incorporation of Death Metal elements to create what could, with more experience under the band's belt, easily become the love child of IMMORTAL and VADER.  "Victorious, I" was the song that made me think VADER for its strong galloping riffs. "And a Colder Breed" just oozes the influences of DIMMU BORGIR and DARKTHRONE. "Ed" was one of my favorites for the sheer heaviness that shockingly but successfully ends with a gentle descent of eerie repetition. There were some songs in which I wished for better drum production, but it's not difficult to recognize the mastery behind these musicians.

But the ultimate reason you should purchase this album? Because KRAKE exudes the thing I respect most about metal musicians: intense labor. "Conquering Death" is in fact five years in the making because it was entirely composed, recorded, and mixed by guitarist Dreugh.  For all this effort to go unheard would be a goddamn shame.  With the continuing release of this kind of sinister originality, KRAKE could easily be the next conquerors of the "cold and frostbitten kingdoms."