Depending on who you ask, the peak of black metal can come in virtually any form from any of the numerous styles that dot the soundscape and its vast spectrum, but it’s every so often that we’re able to witness a single release come around that manages to not only capture the attention of many but brings together all sorts of different people with vastly different tastes. Krallice has been a name that’s been doing such with stunning consistency for years now, and I don’t think there was any doubt that they would be able to do so for their eleventh full-length album.

Immediately, the very name of Krallice is synonymous with a unique identity tied directly to immense quality that compromises for absolutely nothing. After ten full-length albums and numerous other releases from live albums to EPs to splits across their currently 15-year run, how could anyone not become interested as to what the more than seasoned quartet out of New York can keep bringing forward? The gift of time has been all but a true boon for this band, and nowhere else is that more prevalent than in the 50 minutes of “Crystalline Exhaustion”. A true menagerie of what makes modern black metal such a dynamic sound in the first place, there isn’t an instant in any moment of this creation where Krallice isn’t able to effortlessly bound from one dimension of the style to another to make for a listener that’s not only multi-dimensional but wildly interesting in its numerous layers that always have something fresh to offer as one peel back into another. Whether it’s the ambient moments, progressive passages, or the assaults of vicious black metal darkness that grab your attention, it’s hard to argue that they come together harmoniously in a fashion that is no less than enthralling for all that they manage as it’s by just the end of the first track that “Crystalline Exhaustion” becomes a hefty creation right out of the gate with every other factor of the record only furthering the glory, knowledge, and talent that Krallice is able to bring to the table to really show what they’re capable of. Bringing together different styles is far from different in the vast underground, but it is exceedingly special to see such a concoction like this see the light of day, yet it’s all but fitting for a band like Krallice to be the one to pull it off for all that’s achieved here to only further the legacy of excellence that they’re building for themselves at a wondrously consistent rate.

We could sit here all day and talk about the accolades of what Krallice has become and just how much of a buzz they rightfully cause whenever they release a new album with this one definitely being the talk of many corners of the underground, and it shouldn’t take much for anyone to see why that’s the case. The very existence of “Crystalline Exhaustion” is a true testament to what this band is able to bring forth, yet it’s even with the magnificence of this record that I can’t help but feel like this is the standard that we’ve all come to expect from Krallice with naught but high-quality material as a reward for any who investigate.

LISTEN to “Crystalline Exhaustion” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Krallice on Facebook here.