Collaborations are something that I’ve always really appreciated simply because it allows several different musicians to come together for a one-off album that’s something the likes of which we’ll likely never get again and haven’t heard anything quite like before. The best example I have off the top of my head would be the work that Selvans and Downfall of Nur did not too long ago. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a quality collab that’s something we can really sink our teeth into, and it’s with Krukh that we finally got something like that with flavorful contemporary black metal.

As far as I know, the debut album of Krukh isn’t a one-off with the artists being swapped out with a constant member acting as the anchor throughout all the releases, and either way the lineup for “Absurdity!” is absolutely stellar in every way as everyone in the band to those involved in post-production have their hands somewhere in metal where their names are highly respected. We’ve got the mastermind behind the acts of Tchornobog, Aureole, and Drown helming the vocals as well as guitars and bass, a man behind Abysmal Gates, Death Fortress, and live Tchornobog on drums, and then I believe the mastermind behind Krukh itself manning the lead guitars. Everything about Krukh on paper has the band in just about everyone’s favor, but it’s with the six tracks of “Absurdity!” that we see it come to gorgeous fruition. The whole of this record is an incredibly volatile cocktail that’s equal parts mesmerizing in an occult fashion but also furious in the most blistering way that isn’t afraid to tone down for dramatic effect, but it always comes back with a vengeance! This is contemporary black metal at some of its finest, and you can really hear all the pieces fall into place immediately as Krukh doesn’t waste any time to make “Absurdity!” an absolute energizer of a record that holds nothing back to where by the end you’re simply salivating for more.

Leave it to these musicians to create something like this, for this is just the sort of thing that many of us clamor for and I wouldn’t be shocked if Krukh gained more of a cult following more so than it already has based on how quality their debut album is. It’s hard to judge a band’s quality off of one album, but the odds are clearly in favor for everything that Krukh has going for themselves and “Absurdity!” is proof of that.

LISTEN to “Absurdity!” on Bandcamp here.