Band:	Crown
Album:	Psychurgy
Style:	Doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	April 2013

01. Kynesyk I
02. Abyss
03. Blood Runs
04. Serpents And Fire
05. Empress / Hierophant
06. Kynesyk II
07. Telepath
08. We Will Crush The Open Sky
09. Psychurgy
10. Alpha / Omega

Doom, doom, doom! Thus a summary of what you hear on this album. Heavy metal with much (much indeed) weight and cadence. Direct from France Crown released their first full-length Psychurgy in 2013. Do not be fooled by the cover and the title written in Runic alphabet, here you will not hear the drunken joy of folk metal.

The first track "Kynesyk I" is just a chaotic and subliminal introduction, the last refuge of the terror that will succeed. "Abyss" comes with all the weight, without mercy, shooting the drums that pound deep in your bowels. Why speed when you have intensity? The howled vocals only confirm the desperation of doom.

And that's how it goes: the battery commanding the speed, guitar providing weight, and the vocals howling despair. "Blood Runs" merges clear passages, but not necessarily specific, with the same weight. In "Empress Hierophant" which instrument begins to gain prominence is the bass. Distorted to the maximum degree, the four-string praises the blackened atmosphere of doom. Like most songs in here, nothing ends simply, there are more than eight minutes of weight. The next song "Serpent And Fire" maintains the animalistic pattern.

"Kynesyk II" is the shortest song with only 2 minutes long, it's just a transition, a chaotic rest for those who survived this far. "Telepath" surprises with electronic beats and distorted vocals, the single slip of the album. "We Will Crush The Open Sky" persists with electronic atmosphere, but it's not long until the doom comes down with all the weight. Then the title track "Psychurgy" reassures us that this is metal indeed. Closing the album with "Alpha/Omega", the band try stepping on the gas a bit and create a galloping groove (maybe more trotted), the last pearl from Crown.

"Psychurgy" is for those who are in no hurry to headbang. Slow and very heavy doom, something along the line of Triptykon. Do not be alarmed if your heart beats synchronize to the pounding drum in a martial pattern, it's just the band imposing its order. I know it's cliche, but still totally applicable... listen at maximum volume for a complete sound experience.