From Reading, Pennsylvania comes the band Black Crown Initiate, an intriguing progressive extreme metal act that fuses a few styles into a cohesive and enjoyable sound that is sure to turn a few heads with their debut EP Song of the Crippled Bull. Slight elements of Opeth, Fear Factory, Behemoth, Meshuggah, and Scar Symmetry can he heard here, but the band takes these influences and have molded them into something that on its own stands up quite well. "Stench of the Iron Age" starts off like a textured prog-death metal track not unlike early Opeth (complete with gorgeous clean vocals), but them mixes in bombastic rhythms, staccato djent styled riffing, and a furious mix of deep growls, bellows, and screams. "Ghosts She Sends" features more atmospheric moments, until the furious death metal savagery comes blasting back into the mix. Toss in a blazing lead guitar solo and you have a very well rounded, engaging song. Full on blacked death metal is all the rage on the violent "The Mountain Top", as evil growls plow through crushing riffs and punishing drum blasts, but the closing title track once again brings some progressive elements back into play, as the band throw in plenty of maniacal Strapping Young Lad styled bombast with spacey, melodic passages and tasty lead guitar solos.
There's a ton of promise shown here on Song of the Crippled Bull, but just as you really start to get into this short EP it's over, leaving you wanting more. Let's hope Black Crown Initiate come back real soon with a full-length follow-up and fulfill what they started here.
Track Listing
1) Stench of the Iron Age
2) Ghosts She Sends
3) The Mountain Top
4) Song of the Crippled Bull
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