Artist: Crippling Madness
Country: Poland
Label: Putrid Cult
Formats: CD
Year: 2023
Polish Thrash Metal of the straightforward and ugly kind, that is what Crippling Madness offers on their sophomore album, ‘Władcy Nocy’. The differences between both albums are scarce, as this new album is quite close to their debut album from 2019, ‘Ponad Zwłokami’, yet on a closer listen there are some deviations to be discerned.
Yet, not so much in sound, as both albums do sound remarkably identical, but this new offering is definitely a little less raw in nature. That is mainly due to the vocals that are less throaty, but still balances somewhere between a barking Thrash Metal sort of vocal delivery and a proto-grunt similar to that of Max Cavalera at his seminal albums. The resemblances do not end there, the music also has a slight but clearly distinguishable hint of Death Metal to it, yet that also seems less obvious on this newest album. The rather good production that makes the riffs come out pretty well gives the music a vibe that feels much like those earlier Sepultura and some of the American Thrash Metal bands, but it is the angular way of writing riffs and the Polish language that also gives un undeniable Eastern European character. This almost schizophrenic (no pun intended) result makes for quite an enjoyable listen. It is nowhere near any of the classic albums in the genre, nor is it breaking any records, being it either in speed, aggression, catchiness, originality or whatsoever, but sometimes it is just fine. My guess is that these guys are just having heaps of fun bashing out those riffs and crazy guitar leads and thrashing the drums like hell. And, well, fck it, that’s just why we’re in this together, right?
