Kronos - Colossal Titan Strife (2003)^{Release ID: 11439}

"Colossal Titan Strife" is a very well produced & executed example of modern death metal. It's difficult to categorize Kronos' sound as it sits somewhere between a few different sub-genres. It features the blasting intensity of brutal death metal but with a much greater sense of melody within both the riffs & the songwriting. It's quite refreshing in a way & I feel that this melodic element has contributed to Kronos becoming a more accessible artist than your average slamming brutality merchant. The musicianship & production quality are exceptional although the bass guitar certainly lost out in the battle behind the mixing desk. I enjoyed this CD all the more because the riffs sound so precise & well-executed & I can hear everything so clearly. I was a bit disappointed with the vocal delivery as it's so one-dimensional & unintelligible that there may as well not be any lyrics (or vocals for that matter). The guitar solos are very nice indeed with plenty of melodic sweep-picked arpeggios.

Ultimately "Colossal Titan Strife" is just missing a bit of that elusive "X" factor. It's all very nicely written & presented but at times I'm left feeling a little numb. To be honest I'm more into the brutal side of death metal than the melodic & I think the extra melody prevents me from appreciating this more. Regardless, it will appeal to a large cross-section of the extreme metal audience.