Kraanium: Post Mortal Coital Fixation

I don't know how else to say it--this album is in very poor taste. Honestly, I think that even the twisted, vulgar, and shocking songwriting by the members of Cannibal Corpse would agree. Since I'm criticizing this album on the level of taste, I should also point out that it gives plenty of fodder to people who find heavy metal--in all its musical variety--misogynistic, cruel, hyper-masculine, and so forth. I don't think that heavy metal needs any more enemies, especially with talented bands out there that are writing excellent songs. I have a hard time believing that this album, even if only at the level of the song titles, will escape critical notice, even a certain amount of censure. There's more I could say along these lines, but I fear that my remarks will play into a publicity machine, however large or small, that raises a band like this in the public eye because of what may be perceived as their daring, edgy, style. What I'm going to do, instead, is simply say that I disliked this album from beginning to end. I didn't like the song titles, the themes, and I didn't like the music. There are two reasons for this judgment: first, it is uninteresting musically. The vocals (discussed more fully below) are little more than a growl that almost never rises above the mix of the rest of the album. In other words, there isn't a lead singer here, just a side-stage growler. Second, I don't have the ability to judge the lyrical content of this album without much greater help from the band itself. Is all the abject-laden sexuality and cannibal-inspired themes here meant to entertain? Are they ironic, comic or a commercial attempt at shock? Albums like this need to forget about upsetting parents and political commentators and spend their time on cultivating talent. I may be criticized for that last sentence, but there are times when a critic must, um, complain.

I should also say a thing or two about the singing on this album. Like so many other extreme metal releases, it is mostly comprised of low, guttural growling. I keep an open mind when it comes to vocals, though I am often among the first to criticize lack of variety, or, more simply, lack of musical interest. In this case, Kraanium's singer has reached an all-new low with his singing style. It barely rises above the level of the growling, possibly even mumbling. With singing like this, what's the point of writing lyrics, let alone melodies? Yes, there are some tracks where the singing takes on some of the characteristics of melody, but the vocal lines are usually buried under the various layers of guitar parts, drum beats, and droning bass lines. I struggled to see the purpose behind any of it.

Some readers may find that I simply have no sense of humor and will tell me that this album is an exercise in deep, ironic, macabre humor. Fine. My response will be simply that, in my opinion, some bands do it better than others. I'm going to turn off this album and watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie instead. Now there's a master of the dark and the macabre, a teacher to us all. With apologies, I reprint the track list below.

Track Listing:
1. Post Mortal Fixation
2. Stillborn Neurotic Fuck Feast
3. Bursting Rectal Sores
4. Compulsive Mutilation Disorder
5. Slurping the Vaginal Pus
6. Crack Whore Pounding
7. Coprophagial Asphyxiation
8. Slammed Kranial Remains
9. Sculptures of Perverse Suffering
10. Baptized in Boiling Sewage
11. Orgy of Cannibalistic Fornication
12. Entrails Full of Vermin

Added: May 26th 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Myspace Page
Hits: 2200
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]