Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough
Profound Lore Records
Avant-Garde Black Metal
7 songs (77:10)
Release year: 2009
Krallice, Profound Lore Records
Reviewed by Kyle

Krallice’s sophomore record, Dimensional Bleedthrough, is one of those albums that, whether it be the band’s intention or not, really couldn’t be more appropriately titled. It’s this kind of progressive music that really blurs the line between two genres (The two in this case being Black Metal and Post-Rock), slipping smoothly yet somehow abruptly in and out of the dual styles, just as a person having sleeping troubles might alternate in and out of a dream state and end up confusing the real world for the dream world. This is a perfect way to describe Dimensional Bleedthrough; The music often travels across different “Dimensional” planes, bleeding through boundaries separating aggression from beauty, chaos from serenity, and of course, Metal from mainstream.

As great as Dimensional Bleedthrough may sound in the first paragraph of this review (And I assure you, it’s every bit as good as I make it seem in the first few sentences), the sad fact is that, for me, this isn’t as good as Krallice’s self-titled debut. Dimensional Bleedthrough is neither as catchy nor as instantly accessible as its predecessor; rather, it’s more of an experimental step forward that hits almost all the right notes, yet trips up at a few places along the tremolo riff-laden path. The first change that I noticed on my initial listen is that Dimensional Bleedthrough is much more layered than Krallice, with at least two or three complex tremolo lines going on at all times. The guitar harmonies are so thick that they create an almost impenetrable wall of sound, with bass rumbling along in the background (You can actually hear it rather well if you listen for it) and drums pounding away all the while, keeping up a driving (though often monotonous) pace. The next thing noticed is that Dimensional Bleedthrough is rather minimalist when compared with Krallice, often repeating the same guitar lines for minutes at a time, making subtle yet noticeable changes here and there as the drumming propels the riffs forward. It’s often repetitive, but rarely boring, as it creates the sort of atmosphere that only Krallice can.

Speaking of atmosphere, the overall tone with Dimensional Bleedthrough is certainly darker than it was with the self-titled album. It’s not dark in the sense that the riffs have an evil quality to them, as DT probably leans less towards Black Metal than Krallice did, but dark in a way that a story is subtly being told that’s far more sinister than the music on the surface. It sounds odd, I know, but it somehow makes sense when you listen to the album; Listening is indeed believing. Krallice more than makes up for their lack of lengthy lyrics with the sheer scope of the songs they perform; with this kind of music, the tales that the songs tell is open to interpretation by the listener.

As for the songs themselves, it’s easy enough to pick out highlights. Two songs in particular, The Mountain and the untitled track, can be easily placed away from the rest; The former is only about three minutes in length, and shows some slight Death Metal influence to go along with the traditional Tremolo riffs, and the latter is eight straight minutes of cacophonous guitar riffs with no drums or vocals; very atmospheric and intriguing, though it won’t appeal to some. The title track is another one of my favorites, with some of the most melodic (yet chaotic) guitar lines on the album, and Autochthon shows another vague Death Metal influence while simultaneously being one of the mellower tracks on Dimensional Bleedthrough; Krallice’s ability to contrast aggressive and pseudo-mellow styles in a single song is truly intriguing. Much like Forgiveness In Rot was on the debut, Monolith Of Possession brings everything together in a massive closer, with melodic riffs that give you a feeling of being pulled into some kind of magical and wonderful, yet at the same time terrible vortex. A truly incredible 19 – minute epic for sure, it’s without a doubt the best track on Dimensional Bleedthrough, and one of the best Krallice songs to date.

Highlights on this album really have no importance though, as everything Krallice does is either love-it-or-hate-it. Fans of the debut will certainly be pleased, and Darkthrone T-shirt wielding Black Metal purists will surely be pissed off that the band even be considered a part of the genre. Black Metal or no, it can’t be denied that Krallice have a unique form of some kind of Metal brewing that is ripe to be expanded upon (and hopefully improved upon) in the near future.

Killing Songs :
It's all or none depending on your tastes, but Monolith Of Possession slays!
Kyle quoted 88 / 100
Other albums by Krallice that we have reviewed:
Krallice - Porous Resonance Abyss reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Krallice - Psychagogue reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Krallice - Crystalline Exhaustion reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Krallice - Demonic Wealth reviewed by Goat and quoted 70 / 100
Krallice - Prelapsarian reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
To see all 10 reviews click here
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