Kranium - Testimonios

The cover and the army of traditional instruments betray the band's origin from the beginning: it's Kranium from Peru. Strange band, indeed. They started playing in the '80s and, from the death metal of the early days, 'til their 1999 style, when they released "Testimonios", it's a long way to go. Such a long way, that they decided to walk it again, backwards. Consequently, at present, they returned to their death metal sounds.

Let us focus then on their unconventional period, on "Testimonios", best described by four words - heavy, doom, folk, metal:

Firstly, the most obvious thing about the album is the presence of a multitude of Peruvian traditional instruments; the natural way in which Kranium blend these sounds in their songs is fantastic. The folk passages are perhaps better than some tracks of dedicated folk bands, for the simple reason that they carry pieces of the beauty and nature of a country.

Contrasting with the folk parts, or, better yet, their supporting ground is the 'heavy' part: most tracks have a "Tony-Iommi-conducting-his-disciples-from-the-shadow" style: the slow tempo and heavy riffs seem to be reminiscent of the beginnings of doom metal. There are solos, there are "tormented" voice parts, there are growls also; there is a continuous pivoting between traditional metal and traditional music ("El Obraje has lyrics in the Inca language).

Each track has one good moment - or more. First place goes to "Markawasi", brilliant tune, which has to be heard at least once in a lifetime, no matter the tastes. Other remarkable tracks are "El Obraje", "Guerreros", "Reencarnación", with its fast tempo, in opposition with the rest of the album, the balladesque "Dos Sonrisas, Una Lágrima", even the instrumental "Testimonios".

What does "Testimonios" prove? Sadly, that an original and inspired album can remain dusty and known only to the circles of fans. I hope this situation will change. See that you contribute to this, as well.