E.P. Review: Crimson Throne - Instinct
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
I’ll be honest – this was at times like listening to someone trying to tune an analogue radio. The frequencies were screwed, the distortion turned up to 11 and the fuzziness off the scale. It’s the kind of release that would get your father reminiscing about the days when music was “proper”. This four track E.P. by the ambient black metal outfit from the South of England was genuinely hard work and it was only on the final track of the E.P., that Crimson Throne played what one might call a ‘song’. But dig deep beneath the surface and you’ll find an outfit of such intensity that it’s hard to know actually how to categorise them properly.
Opening track ‘I.H’ begins with deep resonating sonic reverb, leaving one to wonder if you’ve intercepted a transmission from another planet. It’s eerie, uncomfortable, and atmospheric in equal measure. The pulsing central tone is certainly challenging, alongside dogs barking, and then a savagely metallic sound sears the eardrums with such vibrancy that you’ll begin to struggle to contemplate much. It is shocking and intimidating.
If you can force yourself through the aural assault that invades your very being, then you can forge into the icy wastelands of second track ‘T.E.’ which is even more harrowing than the first piece. Industrial in its feel, this sounds at times like wind whistling through a long-abandoned factory, although the underlying feel is disturbing and demonic. One might expect the fires of Hell to sound like this. Angular and jagged, ‘T.E.’ is terrifying in its explosive imagery. A cryptic narrative clip in the middle of the piece focusing on change (is it David Attenborough?) is accompanied by a howling gale, funnelled by clanging metal on metal, and some semi-gothic chanting. It all adds up to a truly intriguing and frightening piece of work.
The drama and tension are continued on the next track, also nine-minutes in length. Another seismic and chilling soundscape of some magnitude, ‘F.C.’ is at times even more horrific. There are sounds of devilish characters, crescendos of crushing ambience and frighteningly destructive images. It’s a nightmare of massive proportions, and one which challenges every sinew in the body. It’s only when we arrive at the title track that we return to a semblance of normality.
‘Instinct’ is punishingly different to the point where it is almost impossible to make a judgement. It’s visceral, raw, and yet also intensely detailed and crafted. My advice is probably the same as always. Try it but be prepared for something completely different.
