Craft – Terror Propaganda
Here it is… the black metal release of 2002. Sweden’s Craft swing their mighty blades of torturous suicide with a proficiency that hasn’t been this effective since and album like “A Blaze in the Northern Sky”. There are definite parallels between Craft and Darkthrone found in the simplicity (though never lacking in potency) of the fast riffs, and the cold groove crushing down in the Frost-isms of their mid paced power rhythms, but Craft present a far more ghastly/pained delivery. Nox’s vocals retch and agonize in a way that heightens the intensity, and unyielding urgency in such volatile tracks as “Ablaze” and “Hidden Under the Skin”. Perhaps a cloud so dark looms over this material, that it is able to manipulate the emotions of the listener. As I spin this, my wife quickly departs the room as if repulsed by the suffering screams of a woman on this discs closing track. The production of “Terror Propaganda” is utter cold void perfection, giving the right amount of bottom end to an otherwise grating guitar tone that seethes in a vortex of dissonance. Thankfully, Craft have created songs with discernable rhythms, and clever hooks so that this album isn’t so alien that the listener is cut off, or denied access into the twisted world of this great band. It doesn’t get more traditional (in terms of black metal) than Craft, but “Terror Propaganda” is executed with brilliance and a complexity that is emotions based rather than technically challenged musically. I can’t recommend this release highly enough. Also available on LP, though limited. – Marty
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