Krysthla – “A War Of Souls And Desire” [Album Review]

Many moons ago there was a bunch of scumbags on the UK scene who went by the name of Gutworm. The band lived up to their name with a sound that was crushingly heavy. Sadly, as with many UK bands from around that time, the band faded into obscurity. Until now when, sat in the media area at Bloodstock earlier last month, I had this CD thrust into my hands and was told… “it’s the band that used to be Gutworm.”

Well, having given A War Of Souls And Desire a few spins now, I can safely say it’s good to have them back, whatever they’re calling themselves. A brutal amalgamation of death metal, modern tech metal and Pantera-esque grooves, A War Of Souls And Desire is smashed out with devastating precision as the likes of “H+” and “Luminosity” come across as sounding like Heart Of A Coward would if they were jamming Pantera covers. Precise, clinical riffing but done with enough groove and grind to get your head nodding.

Elsewhere on the album, the drumming on tracks like “The Human Cipher” and “Praise Thee In Flesh” is almost machine-like giving the album a feel similar to that achieved by industrial metal titans, Fear Factory.

Unsurprisingly though, A War Of Souls And Desire has that rawness that only UK bands seem to replicate, but here’s hoping that the quality of this album will shine through and the band won’t remain a UK underground secret this time around.

Track Listing:

01. Minority Of One
02. H+
03. Caged Earth
04. By Way Of Deception
05. An Ancient Hope
06. Luminosity
07. The Human Cipher
08. Praise Thee In Flesh

Run Time: 38:51
Release Date: September 25, 2015

Check out the song “Luminosity” here.