Krete's vicious aural sledgehammer of music stamps this CD with deep grooves and relentless riffs that overflow with caustic rage. Pummeling drumbeats align themselves behind the steady buzzing wall of guitars, while lung emptying growls and grunts are spit out with aggressive vigor. The group sounds a bit like, Machine Head and Earth Crisis with a little Fear Factory and Sepultura thrown in for good measure, to ensure things are hard and heavy. Vocally the album is brutal as guttural barks belt out gravel throated words that sound a bit like Rob Flynn of Machine Head fame as they keep the intensity locked at a simmering pace, lacing it with screams and the occasional injection of harmony and melody. Guitars are chunky and play a traditional metalcore style that is pumped full of savage distortion and crushing riffs. Some experimentation is utilized, but the momentum is the main focus, and as such the playing captured here serves a supporting role. Bass is downtuned to a snarling tone and thump out percussive basslines that are a bit unorthodox, yet retain focus to structure as well as add a bit of flair during fills and breaks. Drums are tight and pummel out solid beats that don't overexert themselves, while managing to add brawn with rugged tuning and a kick drum heavy technique. The band's influences definitely stem from groups who are considered more traditional in the metalcore genre, and their sound is quite intoxicating as they construct music that rivals the intensity of older Machine Head and Sepultura. But the band really begins to shine when they toy around with new ideas, adding drawn out melodic vocals or effects, such as the impressive track "No More" which features these qualities along with a grating riff and some thundering drum work to put a new spin on things. Overall though the strict adherence to straight forward heaviness can begin to take its toll and the moments where the band breaks free of the repetition they indulge in become the shining highlights that stick in the listeners head after a few listens. Without more variation the band is destined to be stuck in the pack, but if they nourish the promising elements shown in a few of the tracks included here and adjust their style to it accordingly, there's no doubt they will be able to win over an abundance of fans with music that is punishingly heavy with a twist. Krete funnel crushing grooves, acrid riffage and a bombardment of numbing percussion into 5 tracks of sheer heaviness, and if they can manage to round things off a bit more and bring out the color which is vaguely present here, the doors that would open for them will definitely allow them to break out of the confines of the local scene into a whole new world of fans.
(3.5 / 5)