Kingcrow
In Crescendo

The fifth studio release from the Italian birds called Kingcrow. This album has a baby in a birds nest on the cover and I can't help feeling that maybe Kingcrow plays music for egg heads, but not when I hear the music.

In Crescendo is an Italian music term for gradually increasing the volume and tempo but I can't say the term is really suiting for this album as it's not exactly starting out calm and soft and then increasing. But you can perhaps say that about the eleven minutes long title track that wraps up the album because that feels more like a crescendo. Most of the album is pretty calm and relaxed, especially when it comes to the tempo, but if there are heavier and faster songs here they are mostly found in the beginning (and then the conclusion to the track Summer '97 is pretty "crescendic"). It's only eight songs but the album is still just over 54 minutes and along with the pretty low tempo I get the feeling that it's a pretty long album… a long but quite beautiful album.

The entire album isn't beautiful, though. The first part of 'In Crescendo' is not particularly mesmerizing and I think it's first by the fourth song that this album really comes alive, like a flower blooming in the spring sun after resting in frozen ground during the winter. The prettiest of them all is probably Morning Rain, The Drowning Line and Summer '97 that comes as track number 4, 5 and 7. The concluding title track is also a lovely flower at times but not all the way through and sometimes during this album I actually feel it's almost a pity that Kingcrow isn't more predictable and less progressive despite the band not being one of those progressive acts that tends to make an effort being progressive rather than good. The worst example of this being a problem is probably in The Glass fortress where they build up something really good that's almost completely ruined by changing style in the middle of the chorus instead of continuing on the path they've started.

But Kingcrow is, like I mentioned above, not a band that's putting to much effort on being a progressive band, they are more of subliminal progressive act - they are progressive but not in a way that it takes over and sometimes you almost doubt their progressivity a bit, but that's when they take out their hidden weapon and makes it obvious to us. But it's obvious their aim isn't to be overly complicated, or advanced or even impressing - instead it feels like they want to be good and I feel they succeed quite well in being this too. They have great atmospheres and lovely melodies that takes you with them like you were tied up to them.

So all's well then? Nothing bad? Well, there is the matter of those opening three songs that is quite flat according to me. Then we have the issue of the playing time sailing away to 54 minutes despite making a mostly soft and slow album, which was a pretty bad move if you ask me. But otherwise I can't find any obvious flaws with 'In Crescendo'. The vocals sounds good, so does the music, and the production is also nicely done. 'In Crescendo' sounds really good and is probably the best album so far from the Italians. I think they also have potential to challenge more established acts in this kind of progressive metal with this album because it's clearly something above average.

 

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