The hardest working band in showbiz is back, baby.  Who even knows how many Krallice albums there are out there (I think I do, Scour Order is their nineteenth release by my count), but there seems to be new ones dropping with a frequency that is alarming if you’re any other band in the progressive black metal circle. Not only is Krallice a band known for their frequency of releases, they are also one of the most consistent in terms of quality, no matter how many different permutations and arrangements of themselves they go through.

I would shudder to think that anyone reading this site might need an introduction to Krallice at this point, but since I’m no gatekeeper (although I have been known to girlboss at times), I’ll give you the short version: back in the wild yonder of 2007, in the faraway land of Queens, New York, a group of musicians who were already individually doing much more than the average NYC metalhead decided to come together and play what, at the time, was some of the most experimental and wildly inventive black metal on the scene.  Producer and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Colin Marston teamed up with mostly-guitarist-but-also-a-shit-ton-of-other-things Mick Barr, and soon bassist/vocalist Nick McMaster and drummer Lev Weinstein were included; the rest, as they say, is history.  That lineup persists to this day, although Krallice do really love playing musical chairs on their instruments; in fact, Scour Order marks the first album in a long time that puts the members of Krallice in their “classic” positions.  While the most recent Krallice releases have seen Marston experimenting on keyboards and additional drums and vocals, with Barr and McMaster switching guitar and bass, it seems the game of musical chairs has seen the members land in their initial positions.  In addition, Scour Order sees Krallice return to their ancestral home of Profound Lore Records, after goddamn fifteen releases that were either independent or through Gilead Media or P2.

Could one conceivably call Scour Order a “return to form” for Krallice if they’ve never made the same album twice?  Sure, the instrumentation and compositions are a little bit more black metal forward, as opposed to the incredibly unorthodox path that they’ve been on lately, but this is still Krallice, after all. You’re going to get anything but “orthodox” here, although this is about as familiar and approachable as Krallice gets. There’s a menace and snarl to the riffs that make up the meat of “Kill the Guardian” and “Indecipherable Divinities” that will appeal to the purists in the room, if any of them are still around, but with enough of a progressive, atonal and eclectic leaning to instantly be recognizable as “Krallice”. Especially nice on Scour Order is the triple vocal assault of McMaster, Barr and Marston; each of their deliveries are unique, adding some additional variety to the compositions that is always appreciated. At the very least, it makes Scour Order feel unique in Krallice’s catalogue, but it’s also another way to show off the incredible talent contained in the four individuals that make up this collective. My favorite parts of Scour Order, however, come in the form of the less overtly heavy or jarring moments, and instead when the boys get downright transcendental with it. Cases in point being the airy and contemplative title track, which is a standout of not just this album but maybe Krallice’s whole discography, or “Living Useless Ritual,” with its hypnotic patterns of angular melodies and calm, airy interludes.

I’ve never encountered a Krallice album I didn’t appreciate, and while I almost find myself missing the weirder, more experimental side of their music, Scour Order is a satisfying album that continues the streak of quality and quantity that Krallice is known for. This might actually be the place to start with Krallice, if you’ve been intimidated by the sheer volume of their releases. It’s a nice little representation of everything they are so goddamn good at.

— Ian

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Scour Order is available now on Profound Lore Records. For more information on Krallice, visit their Facebook page.