EP REVIEW: The Rhythmus Of Death Eternal – Krvna
It may be just under two and a half years since KRVNA released their debut demo, Long Forgotten Relic, but in this short amount of time this one-man act has grown into one of the most promising black metal bands to emerge from Australia in the last decade, with the band’s two albums – 2021’s Sempinfernus and 2022’s For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh – establishing the Sydney-based project a formidable reputation for crafting tight and intricate melodic black metal. The band’s latest EP, The Rhythmus Of Death Eternal, is yet another creative triumph that brings three new slabs of epic extremity to the table, along with two impressive covers that allow an interesting glimpse into KRVNA‘s influences.
Endless Monument starts off this record in incredibly strong fashion with a dark, brooding opener that gradually builds to a much sharper, more melody-driven sound that draws heavily from classic heavy metal for its influences. It still has a harsher, more acerbic edge, notably in the caustic approach of the vocals and punishing aural assault of the drums, which makes this an extremely ferocious but thoroughly epic take on black metal that kicks proceedings off in a grand and adventurous way. A God’s Work, with its cleaner guitar tone and atmospheric sound, blends the visceral undercurrent and slick leads of the previous track with a sinister, visceral style, still possessing the soaring, punchy qualities of the preceding offering, but embracing a chaotic, driving sound that feels decidedly intense.
What Great Lengths is another suitably grandiose and sprawling effort not unlike the first two; it adopts the stringent, ethereal guitar sound of the former, presenting a cavernous, biting affair with shrill vocals and blistering rhythms to create a searing, belligerent sound that still allows those tight, catchy riffs to cut through the mix and provide this fairly noxious effort with some memorable, polished touches that work extremely well. The final two tracks are both great covers of songs by classic black metal acts, the first of which being ABIGOR‘s An Astral Images Dark Reality; it proves to be a fairly faithful version of the original, with the band’s sharper guitar sound accentuating the jarring side that this track is known for, complete with the sudden tonal shifts, tempo changes and imaginative flourishes. The second plays to KRVNA‘s epic side with a take on Man Of Iron by BATHORY, a song that is transformed from its originally subdued and acoustic-driven sound to a much faster, harder piece of black metal that works surprisingly well, bringing this record to a close in a powerful and stunning way.
Although this may not be a full-length, The Rhythmus Of Death Eternal proves to be every bit as strong and effective as the band’s longer form work. It’s the sort of EP that manages to distil together a myriad of black metal styles, from sharp, melodic black metal through to the genre’s more atmospheric and even depressive outer reaches, without allowing any one style to dominate the overall sound here. There’s an intense focus and musical variety that serves each of these offerings a distinct, captivating edge, and the two covers that feature here manage to retain what made the originals work so well whilst adding the band’s own flavour to them, as the majority of great covers tend to. Considering the pace with which KRVNA are putting out new music, it’s unlikely to be long before this EP’s follow up sees the light of day, and hopefully, whatever this band releases next will take the many strengths of this record and develop them even further.
Rating: 9/10
The Rhythmus Of Death Eternal is out now via Zazen Sounds.
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