Kronos' Heritage EP, 2011

"The three-track EP "Kronos' Heritage" is the second release from folk metallers Krampus this year - and I must say that their productivity is admirable, especially considering that, as far as I understand, their releases are self-released and not backed by any label. The three tracks are solidly grounded in melodic death metal, although Krampus have not adopted the Gothenburg sound, which is always refreshing (I like the Gothenburg sound, to be sure, but it is nice to know that there are artists who do not follow the trends) and you can expect uptempo drumming, melodic but aggressive riffs as well as harsh vocals combined with clean ones. The vocals are mostly a sort of metalcore scream with the vocalist delivering some guttural growls and some clean choruses every now and then. Krampus make extensive use of folk instrumentation and on top of the melodic death metal, there are folk instruments playing folk melodies (some times the guitars join in, too), and there are also whole passages that are more fundamentally folk-driven. I think that the three tunes on this EP are just right in terms of metal elements and folk elements, and - although I am not a big fan of the vocals - I think that "Kronos' Heritage" is an all round solid and enjoyable release. (review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"