Krysthla – Worldwide Negative
Krysthla – Worldwide Negative
PHD
Release Date: 16/08/2019
Running Time: 42:28
Review by Tammy Lomax
10/10
When I was given the opportunity to review Krysthla’s new album “Worldwide Negative” I was ecstatic. It was quite cosmic as at the time I was commuting and listening to ‘Luminosity’ from their debut album!
In my opinion Krysthla are by far one of the best extreme metal bands out there and their hard work has already proven to be a massive success for them.
There are many reasons why I appreciate Krysthla, mainly being how consistent they are with their delivery in everything they do, from live performances to mastering their albums and are genuinely lovely fellas; they literally are masters in perfection. When I was first introduced to Krysthla they were supporting Textures and they utterly smashed the hell out of the stage. They hammer with precision and they are persistent in whatever they convey.
“A War Of Souls And Desires” was released in 2015 and this was only the beginning of something beautiful. Two years later “Peace In Our Time” was released and, putting it lightly, blew your ears off and it hit a No.2 slot in Amazon’s Rock and Metal chart. Krysthla did not stop there, playing the Sophie Stage at Bloodstock Festival and then going on to tour with the mighty Decapitated. Just when you assume they cannot get any better they do and don’t do it lightly! Like a massive wallop in the face, if you aren’t awake yet then you will be after listening to “Worldwide Negative” It is going to be huge!
Recently released single ‘Zero Sum Game’ has had tremendous amounts of airplay on Kerrang, Primordial, and Bloodstock radio etc. along with their music video, DO go and check it out! It’s a massive tease into what to expect with the rest of the album. I am actually still recovering from the shock of it all because “Worldwide Negative” has reached out beyond all expectations.
When I plugged my headphones in, straight away bang!!
Krysthla have become more dynamic with their synth sounds, making the music flow. It is the foundation to their new sound and personally I cannot imagine them without these now.
The emotion you experience after listening to album opener ‘Negative’ is baffling, you’re almost unsure of how to feel and then ‘Reawaken’ slaps you hard in the face. You reach a pinnacle then are thrown back down vigorously and you end up like a pile of mashed potato! Then, out of nowhere, comes the wonderful chorus, how have they pulled this off? Your head is all over the place trying to comprehend what the hell is going on but it is absolute magic, art and science all at the same time.
‘Grief Is New Love’ is much faster with what seems like some heavy slam riffs. I have no space left in my brain to actually understand how they have managed to pull off fast thrash and slam together, it is heavy, mean and it is angry, its pure evil actually. You feel the passion in this track completely, it’s insanely good and you don’t want it to end. It is diverse with switching dynamics but also flows beautifully. I can accept that I have never heard anything so powerful before!
‘Zero Sum Game’ is definitely the big tease as mentioned earlier. Never assume with Krysthla because they will blow that out the water and then go ahead and set it on fire. In all seriousness picking a favourite track on this album is impossible. ‘White Castles’ is a little break from the hammering, but it’s done in such a way where you don’t want to relax. You can relate to the expression of pain is all I can say. It is beautifully done and you can really hear their message in this track… this is your moment to take a breather. For sure it pulls at your heart, thus much easier on the ears. Have you ever wanted to scream at the world? Then this track will get you. It is slower but massively needed.
‘Psalm Of Heartlessness’ is exactly what Krysthla are about, bringing you back into the album after absolute mayhem. One of my favourite things about their sound has to be the vocals, Adrian Mayes has an exceptionally powerful voice yet sounds exactly the same when performing live, how he maintains that growl, at that level, I do not know!
‘Aurea Mediocritas’ oh yes, here come those meaty bass riffs, Krysthla totally own it. Jesus, you can get into a serious rhythm with this track. This is definitely an alluring track and will open up a mosh pit for sure. If you are not pumped yet, you will be. There is a taste of everything here, their original sound with added extras but not too overwhelming. It is a little gentler on the ears due to the slower speed but no less powerful. Finally, how do you possibly end such a powerful album? with ‘The Gift’! It’s the bounciest track on “Worldwide Negative” and why not eh, leaving the listener on a slight high before the ‘what the heck just happened’ kicks in! Every single second has been thought about, every second. I had my arms up in the air at the end with nothing but complete respect. You really need this track to balance out the rest of the album and it works perfectly.
When you step out of your comfort zone and sprinkle some modern extras, you don’t always get the results you expect but Krysthla pulled me in immediately, got my attention and further excited the more I listened. It has left me on an absolute high and feeling I can literally take on the world. Every single track on this album is gold dust! It becomes overwhelming when the album finishes. Every single beat, riff, vocal, in fact everything has had a vast amount of time, effort and passion put into it and it’s massively better than their previous albums. I have sat here for ages to try and find a flaw but I just can’t. It’s musical evolution at its finest. From the moment you press play you are hitting another level of extreme metal.
“Worldwide Negative” will be released on 16th August so get yourself a copy and take note. If you can get your ass to Bloodstock Festival and watch them smash the Main Stage then do it! I have so much love and respect for them; they could not have done a better job at destroying my ears. A massive well done Krysthla, I am a happy Tammy.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Negative
02. Reawaken
03. Grief Is New Love
04. Zero Sum Game
05. White Castles
06. Psalm Of Heartlessness
07. Aurea Mediocritas
08. The Gift
LINKS:
http://www.krysthla.co.uk/
https://shor.by/krysthla
https://www.facebook.com/krysthla/
Tweets by Krysthlaband
https://www.instagram.com/krysthla_band/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwjHzxNfTUqNaZ9wshfKQMQ
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Tammy Lomax and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.