Kruiz

There’s quite a story behind this legendary Russian band, but it’s been so well covered on the pages here and elsewhere that I have nothing more to add. My first metal concert was that of Aria in 1987; yes, that same other Russian metal behemoth. During the communist years the only acts we could see in Bulgaria were those from the Eastern Bloc (Sodom were the first Western metal band to ever play here in 1991), and the Aria tour was the first genuine coming of a metal outfit on Bulgarian ground, sold out way before the guys even set foot in the country. I like the Arias, but have never been really infatuated with their Iron Maiden-influenced classic heavy metal, another major reason for that being that my heart had already been “sold” to Kruiz, right after the acquisition of their “Kruiz-1” vinyl. This same vinyl sold hundreds of thousands in Bulgaria in the late-80’s, and with its over 12 million copies sold in Russia alone, remains the biggest seller in metal history, second only to The Black Album probably. A fact…

Back at the time the world was metal, even my grandmother was listening to it, with disco trudging behind at a few hands’ distance. It was amazing to be a part of this carnival where one music style had embraced billions of people from all corners of the world nullifying the rest of the music business the way it has never been done before or after... Magnificent stuff, and the Kruiz record captured the essence of this carnival in the best possible way; in other words, these three Russians had produced a superb collection of power/speed metal anthems giving the whole German movement a run for their money all the way from Stuttgart to Moscow. I’m not sure how many records the guys managed to sell on the other side of the Iron Curtain, but they must have impressed some big shots over there cause they received an invitation by none other than Warner Elektra Atlantic, the music production giants, from their German branch to record an English version of their sophomore effort simply titled “Kruiz”.

The support tour for this second coming passed by Bulgaria, naturally, and I was one of the lucky ones to witness the “devastation” this fabulous trio brought to my motherland, in my hometown Varna; the greatest concert these eyes and ears have ever experienced. I never saw them again, but the guys were on fire reproducing these maddening speedy numbers note-by-note, unerringly, throwing the audience in total frenzy (I’m yet to witness a bigger, more violent moshpit than the one stirred on “Possessed”). I remember looking at Valeriy Gaina thinking “Is that humanly possible?! The way this guy shreds…” Although this was barely my second concert, I knew he was something special, a guitar wizard who could play half the Shrapnel performers under the table at 3am with the contents of three bottles of Russian vodka in his belly. It was astonishing watching him play live, the ultimate axeman, who has subdued his vocal heroics for the sake of his guitar exploits since behind the mike the man was just a decent semi-dramatic clean crooner feeling way more comfortable singing in his mother tongue than fighting with the hard to absorb, and pronounce, English lyrics as becomes quite evident here.

This album doesn’t get the perfect score based on nostalgic reasons only; it’s an immaculately executed classic of speed/thrash metal history predating the first two Blind Guardian opuses and Paradox’s “Heresy” which are similarly-structured. “Knight of the Road” is the best possible way to start this grandiose saga, a heroic speed metal winner that would make early Helloween and Warrant proud, with some of the flashiest guitar work around this side of Kai Hansen. The progressive magnanimity of the opener is opposed to by the next two cuts (“Brave New World”, “Heaviest in Town”) which are brisk, immediate thrashers without too many guitar pyrotechnics. Epic is the name of the game on the following “The Avenger” which commences with a supreme lyrical balladic passage; just listen to the heart-rending motifs and weep till the end of time… not quite since the song becomes a dynamic mid-paced shredder the “idyll” brutally “killed” by a super-speedy section in the second half the latter reaching death metal proportions with ease; a most eventful hymn, an encyclopaedia of moods, atmospheric accumulations, and above all, marvellous fretwork all over.

“In Flames” could have been a leftover from the debut, a power/speed metal piece with the staple first-class guitar work shining, accentuating the memorable chorus with the bass threading prominently; the latter can’t be heard the whole time due to the very busy shred-fest, but by all means leaves a positive impression when in action. “Dreams 5000 Years Long” enchants with great melodic tunes on top of vitriolic speed metal the contrasting symbiosis having a strong dramatic, deeply atmospheric aura. “Iron Rock” brings the requisite optimism and carefree mood from its very title although music-wise we have another virtuoso performance by Gaina who turns this intended frolic “filler” into another less ordinary thrashy headbanger.

“Possessed” will grip you much harder than “The Exorcist” even if you have watched this cult classic five times in a row on the same day; these are some of the most treasured 7.5-min in thrash metal history, one of the ten finest compositions this genre has ever produced. From the stomping intro; to the maddeningly speedy crescendos reaching death metal-ish fever pitch; to the spell-binding balladic, lead-driven mid-break; to the speed/thrashing revelation in the second half and the blistering lead cannonade which wraps it on before the stomping beginning comes back as an epitaph… it’s speed/thrash summed up, cultivated, then perfected, and brought back to its pristine innocent form… yes, that’s how long it takes, less than 8-min to delight millions of fans worldwide; “possessed” indeed; and still are… For this cut alone this album deserves 95% any time.

This “possessed” number (of the beast) is the closer, logically, although some versions comprise the earlier mentioned “In Flames” sung in Russian as the final cut; no musical alterations on it, just the lyrics. I was quite surprised to find out that the band had a sizeable following in Western Europe as well, Germany in particular, to which scene the guys’ style was mostly catering to. For pure unadulterated retro speed/thrash one shouldn’t look any further than the album reviewed here. It would satisfy the more demanding audience on the other side of The Atlantic, too; and in this train of thought I shouldn’t forget to mention the legends Holy Terror who were also busy weaving similar diverse tapestries once upon a time, and are possibly the closest Kruiz soundalike from the US brotherhood. The Shrapnel followers should track down this effort immediately, too; this is more exuberant and more elaborate than any Cacophony or Apocrypha album… seriously.

To become a legend and generate a devoted cult following, a band can’t be a regular presence on the scene for years on end stubbornly churning out more or less satisfying albums in a perennial, conveyer-like fashion. They have to come with all the guns blazing once, maximum twice, and then vanish from the public eye… for good. Kruiz fulfilled these requirements their iconic status further aggravated by the myths surrounding them: they were terminated once by the Soviet government due to the aggression their music was emitting; the song “The Last Dawn” from their debut is supposedly the fastest song ever, played at the insane 318 bpm in its demo version; etc. Said status may have been dissipated a bit recently, though: it turned out that the band had another collection of songs ready to be released as an immediate follow-up to the album reviewed here. These tracks saw the light of day some twenty years later as “Culture Shock ALS” which may not be the “shock” mentioned in the title for the band fans, but is clearly a tangible step down from their early works mixing the staple furious speed/thrashers with much friendlier radio hits, and even full-fledged ballads. Yeah, it was probably good that this recording didn’t appear as an immediate follow-up to this magnum opus here; it would have destroyed the Kruiz legend beyond any chances for redemption.

There have been rumours in the past few years that the band were planning a comeback, but Gaina dissipated them, to the fans’ utter chagrin. It seems as though the man is content enough with his solo career which he has been maintaining since 1995 although there have been only four albums released under the Gaina banner so far (the most recent “Fingertips”, 2011). Needless to add, the guitar work on those is nothing short of mesmerizing, but don’t look for any vestiges of thrash or speed metal on them; there’s none. And this is how it should probably be… the Kruiz legend must stay intact, tucked away from all attempts at detrimental musical exorcisms.