Kingcrow – Eidos

The Kings Have Returned

We all know that Sweden has had its lock on metal for some time – but the Italians have a made a good run this year. Part of that run is Kingcrow’s latest release Eidos. Two years since their last album they have returned, and with them a blistering entryway into the heavy progressive music world.

By definition Kingcrow is a prog band. The songs are long and often pull from a multitude of influences to create their sonic palate. It makes for quite an interesting album. “Adrift,” the second song on Eidos, starts off almost as your standard ballad. Then it pulls itself into an almost Tool-like jam at the end, building into a crescendo that turns right back into the ballad. This album is full of these kinds of twists and dips, taking the listener through all the genres they seem to be a fan of themselves.

The album’s opening track “Moth” is as close to a “true metal song” on the album. Which is not a bad thing. They loosely grab metal influences and use it to glue the album together; a kind of foundation for the songs to arrange themselves around. This band is aiming for a much broader spectrum of writing. They see the horizon from where they stand and are damn sure going to do what they can to get there.

The other songs on the album bring out their traditional and classical music sides. The acoustic guitar is all over this album. On songs like the more than seven minute long opus “The Deeper,” (that isn’t even the longest song on the album), it’s almost a traditional meets modern song. Acoustic guitars set chords and electronic drums bash out the time like digital hammers until we get to an almost full blown electric metal riff session.

By the time you get to the album’s title track “Eidos” (the album’s longest track at over eight minutes) you’ve heard over 35 plus minutes of some of the most intricate prog this year. Is it well done? Absolutely. Is it the best prog album of the year? No it is not. But you can tell these guys are onto something and they have put us all on notice. Based on Eidos we will all be talking about Kingcrow as royalty very soon.