Album Review: Krallice – Scour Order
Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
Few bands can match the sheer velocity and release cadence of Krallice! Since their 2007 inception, the band have 15 full length albums to their name! Largely a studio project, live appearances have been rare but performing as Roadburn Festival’s in-house band for the 2026 edition must be seriously respected! They will add appearances at this autumn’s Damnation and Desertfest Belgium to their list. As well as album 16 “Scour Order” via Profound Lore records, joining the ranks of Bell Witch, Spectral Wound, and other prestigious extreme metal acts who also call the record label home. This is significant as Krallice has largely released music independently. So, what can we expect from “Scour Order”?
Well, there’s raw and gritty albums. Then there’s rushed and half-baked releases. Sadly, “Scour Order” is leaning too close to the latter! To keep it concise, it just feels like Krallice has produced much better records than this! “Years Past Matter” offered a deep dive into the cosmic atmospheric reaches of black metal whilst retaining the pace and ferocity that pushed Krallice beyond the reaches of the genre.
“Crystalline Exhaustion” offered a similar explosive burst of black metal but with an indulgent synth driven spine that added mystery, intrigue and melody to proceedings. All of these elements are absent from “Scour Order”. The overall sound feels flat and never reaches the crushing highs of those albums. With so much studio experience, this should be a record that learns from the lessons – victories and defeats – from the past. This at times feels like devolution though.Then again, we’d be complaining if it sounded too polished and sterile. So we can’t have it both ways. Surely there’s a happy medium though?
Maybe it’s one that needs some time to get used to. Because after a few listens, ‘Her Green Arms’ began to resonate with me and the raw unpolished aggression started to strike a chord. As did the final song and album title track ‘Scour Order’. Except that this was much quicker to get on board with. Despite being an indulgent thirteen minutes, this journey felt worth it and traces of that cosmic atmosphere were becoming more salient in the mix, as well as some psychedelic spice to add urgency and tension. This one flows like lava, consuming everyone and everything in its path! A saving grace and satisfying end to what has been an album not up to Krallice’s high standards!
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