Into the Glory Land

Crom was formed in 1997 by Walter Grosse, then a member of Dark Fortress. As his solo work soon began to give him more pleasure than the activity in his main band, after the release of the "Tales from Eternal Dusk" album the musician decided to focus on his own musical path. Now Crom is preparing to release his fourth album and what's interesting: it will be the first one recorded by the band, not Walter himself. Yup, Crom finally have a full line-up.

Released in late 2021 the EP "Into the Glory Land" is an introduction for the successor to the album "When Northmen Die", released in 2017. It contains two brand new compositions and three acoustic tracks, including two covers. First up are numbers that show what to expect from the band in the coming months. Both the title track and "Riding into the Storm" are extremely melodic, close (especially in the verses) to heavy metal genre. The former features Stefan Peyerl on lead guitar, who not only delivers a fantastic opening part, but also a nice solo. The track also boasts a great, epic chorus, which alludes to the classics of viking metal, with Bathory's "Blood on Ice" at the forefront. "Riding into the Sun" is similar in atmosphere, but the composition itself is a bit more developed - we have here, for example, more changes of pace. Still, I prefer this first, less complicated number.

The second part of the EP consists of three acoustic tracks. The first one is a great performance of "The Hanging Tree", a composition written by James Newton Howard, the original of which could be heard in the movie "The Deathly Hallows. Part 1". Instead of Lawrence's delicate, uncertain voice we have Walter's nice vocals, and the whole thing was done in a bit of a folk, acoustic fashion. It sounds like something from the turn of the 60s and 70s - great! I have a bit of a problem with the hit arrangement of "Wings of Fire" (the original was the first track on the debut album), as it clashes with the lyrics, which are quite strong. It seems to be such a pleasant melody, and here Crom sings about revenge and life in captivity. Fortunately, I didn't experience such dissonance in Bathory's cover. A short track from the cult "Hammerheart" has been nicely prolonged and based on keyboard parts. It is calm and atmospheric.

"Into the Glory Land" is a good release, after which you want more. Two new, extremely melodic tracks let us look into the future with optimism - especially to the band's fourth full-length album (which I'll probably check out). The three acoustic tracks are interesting (especially "The Hanging Tree") and are a nice addition. If you are a fan of music like Bathory, Forefather or Týr, then you should get acquainted with Crom's activity. It will surely appeal to your taste.

Originally written for www.metalside.pl