Reviews section

So far, I haven't sent out too many demos, but a few reviews have been made. I'll include ALL reviews of Cruor Deums work, not just the good ones (if there'll ever gonna be one) :D

The Need for Theory review by OlympicSharpshooter @ www.metal-archives.com

In the dismal “e-metal” scene, we are too often forced to damn with praise. “Well,” we begin searching desperately for ways to avoid bruising delicate feelings, “that was certainly better than the last one you put out.” We search for little signs of improvement, talk of technique in lieu of actual inspiration. It’s not unlike being a kindergarten teacher sometimes, placating a worried parent by drawing attention to the fact that, in spite of his inability to stop collecting his scabs or eating little Suzie’s boogers, he can write his name with admirable grace. Finland’s Cruor Deum, at least, is a band with little to worry about in this regard. Not only have I never personally witnessed bandleader Martin Gestranius ambling around class with his Huggies training pants around his ankles, but the man is also a very capable songwriter.

It’s Cruor Deum’s compositional sense that separates this band from the pack. While not as wilfully weird as the similarly overachieving By Dawn Cursed, there is definitely an identifiable Cruor Deum sound. Having a unique sound is half the battle; the other half is having a good sound. The Need for Theory succeeds in spades. The band plays an attractive mix of melodic death and big budget black metal, and the ease with which they blend the two is indicative of how much common ground they share. Cruor Deum, like Arsis and Naglfar, would likely be impossible without bands like
Samael, Hypocrisy and Dissection’s groundbreaking fusions, but this hardly makes their work a lesser accomplishment. While it may be overstating the case given Cruor Deum’s low-profile, albums like The Need for Theory and its predecessor, 2005’s Lies Shall Command, represent a necessary advancement of these ideas.

I think it’s necessary because this record is too promising for this sound to remain unexplored. While some will likely be turned off by the very synthetic nature of the guitar tracks, they strike these ears as being merely a lower-budget version of the extremely clipped mechanical sound that metal man-about-town Peter Tägtgren has been pumping out for the past decade. I don’t describe myself as a fan of it per se, particularly when my mind turns to mecha-disasters like Soilwork, but it goes to show that Cruor Deum is not that far off of the state of the art. Shockingly, the drums sound more lively and acoustic at times than the triggerfests that dominate the extreme. Gestranius, and co-conspirator Jesper Jakobsson, work within these inhuman strictures to create metal that is almost as seductive as it is brainy.

And damn, does this boy not come up with some of the best metal titles in the business? While The Need for Theory can’t quite match Lies Shall Command in this regard, I can’t help but love the way he throws around exclamation points: “Hate the Human Figure!”… well, alright, why not? It’s indicative of the way he melds good old Emperial black metal giddy-up with the rigidity of modern Dark Tranquility. His melodic sense is insanely strong, and he finds ways to literally get the best of both worlds. He is weaker when he allows one element of his sound to dominate, as in the slightly overlong BM workout “Koma”, but for pounding kicked-in-the-teeth thrashy death “Reverend Neverend” is amazingly satisfying. Moreover, the vastly improved growls mask lyrics that are, at times, genuinely thought-provoking and clever.

The album does suffer in a few areas. While it does overshadow the comparatively amateurish Lies Shall Command in most regards, it unfortunately loses out in BSRQ: Butt-Shakin’ Riffs Quotient. Simply put, the big swinging hooks that so endeared me to tracks like “There Will be Darkness!” (exclamation!) are almost completely absent aside from, perhaps, “Reverend Neverend” which wasn’t written for the Theory sessions anyway. Gestranius seems to be aiming for a vibe arty enough to match his words, and though the lack of Lord of the Rings is emphatically welcome on this release, it is at times less engaging (likely due to the comparative absence of clean vocals this time around) and…well… fun.

The way I see it, Cruor Deum can go one of two directions. According to Gestranius, the next album is going to be recorded entirely on real instruments. While this could remove the last block preventing Cruor Deum from being regarded as a “serious” band, I would not be surprised if there is a drop in quality on the next release due to the much higher difficulty level that comes of recording with live instrumentation. If the band finds it impossible to record to what appear to be fairly exacting standards, I for one would not be disappointed if Gestranius returned to fully electronic composition with an eye for making his compositions more elaborate. I already detect somewhat of a Passage-era Samael vibe to much of Cruor Deum’s output, and it wouldn’t be a huge step for the band to add texture to their compositions. There is ample sonic space available on The Need for Theory, and given that Jakobsson appears to be a fairly talented pianist, they clearly have the means.

The other route, and likely the more difficult, will be to soldier on until they are able to marry their striking intelligence to the heart that is required to be a worthy “live” band. I am not sure what resources Cruor Deum can summon up in this regard, but in my eyes the standards change when one can hear a real guitar in full-throated roar. They’ll be competing in a bigger league. But there is promise; if they can link the flashes of emotive ability that Lies Shall Command demonstrated with the steely capability of this effort, they could be damn well great.

And I still love Finland.

Stand-Out Tracks: “Reverend Neverend”, “When You Left”, “You May Die When Ready”

Recubo Mos To Order - Lies Shall Command review by OlympicSharpshooter @ www.metal-archives.com

Man, I love Finland - 88%
Written by OlympicSharpshooter on March 29th, 2006

I just thought I'd throw that out there. Think of all the great hockey players! Miikka Kiprusoff, Antero Nittymaki, Essa Tikkanen, Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Jarkko Ruuto, Olli Jokinen, Sami Salo, Ville Peltonen, Jere Lehtinen... and I don't have to tell you that no country in the world has cooler names. I mean, come on... Jarkko Ruuto? There's no beating that. Plus, they spawned Amorphis and their president looks like Conan O'Brien. And now, I find myself spinning this indie release from Cruor Deum all the freakin' time and the first thing that comes to mind is this quote:

"Impressive... most impressive!"

While there's little on this record that brings to mind lightsabre battling, it seems that a complement of Vaderian magniloquence is required to congratulate Cruor Deum (or more specifically Martin Gestranius) on such an impressive independent release. While some of the instrumentation does betray its synthetic origin, Lies Shall Command is a work of surprising muscle and professionalism. Where most of these one-man projects end up being exercises in pretentious ambient self-congratulation, Cruor Deum play what I can only describe as melodic extreme metal, neither fully black nor fully death but capable of wielding the weapons of both towards its own finely crafted end. These riffs are hearty, headbangable jackhammers, based upon familiar chord progressions and concepts but served up fresh and bleeding, the crackling caws and throaty growls too surpassing the pubescent squawk of many a solo project.

There really isn't a weak track on this thing, and almost as importantly it's extremely well-sequenced. Opening instrumental pairing "Awakening Tears" and the brief but thrashing "Fan Tar Dig!" are a note-perfect introduction to the album, smooth foreplay to get one in the mood for the rest of the whirlwind which kicks off promptly with the swinging groove of "There Will Be Darkness!". While there are plenty of these kind of projects that I have some admiration for, it's rare that they actually bring forth riffs that I LIKE, and I really like the chorus riff for this one. Although the song is a bit too disjointed for its own good (when you've got the throat, don't delay in ripping it out!) it's leaves the listener in exactly the right mood to chase it with the highly dynamic "May Hope Stand Alone..." which features an almost harrowing vocal performance:

"I came, I sought, I found (in life)
the clover is hidden in me
Their screams, they pierce and cut
my crystal, my precious.
These stars, they speak, they threaten
to get behind my eyes
I dispute, I'm sans all
I've lost... everything..."

And that roiling yet incredibly solid riff under that? Oh yes, I am rocking here. Gestranius has a real gift for finding the exact mid-tempo riff to fit any occasion, and while the band does occasionally lapse into rather generic blasting they always find a cunning way to implement a harmonic counterpoint to the mayhem, tracks like the face-crushing "Liquid Sinner" galvanizing your metal bones and metal jones while stroking your pituatary gland until it spews out an endorphin-rich money shot. The cohesion of these tracks is hella impressive, and although I just used the term 'hella' you gotta believe me when I say that this album is so good that it wouldn't suffer from comparison to major label releases in its genre.

Another cool thing about the album is that the vocals are generally quite intelligible, which allows the listener to discern the fact that Gestranius is a pretty damned solid lyricist. While any song based on Lord of the Rings produces an instant eye-roll from me (seriously, there are better writers out there), even "By the Hand of No Mortal Man" is quite kickin' fantasy metal wordsmithery. Though I love me some good self-effacing irony, when it comes to extreme metal vicious proclamations are the order of the day and Cruor Deum delivers.

So yeah. It's rather difficult to imagine a metaller with more than a toe dipped into the deep end of the heavy metal swimming pool who wouldn't enjoy Lies Shall Command. Basically, the only drawbacks here is that the clean vocals would have benefitted from better recording and the lead guitar lines sometimes sound like they're being played on a harpsichord. I think if this guy had access to a full band to do his bidding and some studio time, the songs here would transcend from merely rockin' to the kind of metal that makes your heart beat triple-time. Before exploding. But as it is, this is pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to free, original metal. Follow the links and seek this one out!

P.S.: Did I mention that I love Finland?

Stand-Outs: "May Hope Stand Alone...", "Wielding Shadows", "Illic Ero Obscurum! - There Will Be Darkness!"

The Need for Theory review by metal-only.com -- 2006-03-27

Svenska

Finska CRUOR DEUM är en enmansskapelse som Martin Gestranius står bakom och nya albumet "The Need For Theory" lär vara det sista albumet där dataprogram får stå för den instrumentala biten. Det var även med stort intresse jag började lyssna på albumet, då CRUOR DEUM tidigare har visat tydliga tendenser på att förbättra både låtmaterial och ljud för varje utgivning som kommer.

Albumet börjar väldigt annorlunda än de tidigare skapelserna och den instrumentala introlåten "Infuse, Initiate!" ligger egentligen närmare klassisk musik än metal eller rock. Efter denna vackra och atmosfäriska pianoinledning som gästartister Jesper Jakobsson står för, så kastas man skoningslöst in den rätt melodiska death metallen med sina aggressiva black och thrash inslag som sedan tidigare är bekant. Dock möter man genast en riktigt trevlig upptäckt, nämligen att ljudet är långt bättre på "The Need For Theory" än på tidigare utgivningar. Detta märks framförallt på trummorna, som denna gång nästan totalt undviker att låta för stela och programmerade. Även i de låtar där tempot ligger rätt högt, som i den väldigt thrashiga "You May Die When Ready" och den aggressiva "The Requirement Of Logic", så funkar trummorna riktigt bra. Tyvärr kommer stelheten delvis fram i de snabbare partierna i "When You Left", men denna lilla miss är inget som inverkar på helhetsintrycket speciellt mycket. De diffusa folkinfluenser som dök upp på föregående album kan även anas i introt till "Hate The Human Figure!" som utan tvekan är albumets bästa låt, med sitt väldigt varierande sound och rätt catchiga melodier. De starkaste folkinfluenserna får man dock i "My Thoughts Be Punished", där man även höra lite ren sång av tidigare omnämnda Jesper Jakobsson, vars röst passar utmärkt in i musiken.

"The Need For Theory" är utan tvekan CRUOR DEUM's bästa album hittills, mycket tack vare att ljudet är så mycket bättre på denna utgivning än de tidigare. Låtmaterialet är även riktigt starkt och Martin visar åter igen att han är en duktig låtskrivare. Det skall bli verkligen intressant att se vad CRUOR DEUM kan prestera i framtiden med äkta instrument.


English

Finnish CRUOR DEUM is a one-man creation that Martin Gestranius stands behind and the new album "The Need For Theory" is apparently the last one on which computer software is used to create the instrumental part of the music. It was with great interest that I begun listening to the album, since CRUOR DEUM has previously shown clear tendencies to improve both song material and above all the sound quality for every creation being released.

The album opens very differently from the previous releases and the instrumental intro song "Infuse, Initiate!" lies in fact closer to classical music than metal or rock. After this beautiful and atmospheric piano opening, which the guest artist Jesper Jakobsson stands for, you are mercilessly thrown into the much more familiar melodic death metal with its aggressive black and thrash metal elements. I did however immediately make a really nice discovery, namely that the sound is far better on "The Need For Theory" than on earlier releases. This is above all noticeable in the drum sounds, which this time almost completely avoids the danger of sounding too stiff and programmed. Even in those songs in which the tempo is quite high, like the very thrashy "You May Die When Ready" and the aggressive "The Requirement Of Logic", the drums are sounding really nice. Unfortunately the stiffness can to some extent be heard in the faster parts in "When You Left", but this minor mistake is nothing that affects the overall impression in any major way. The diffuse folk influences that turned up on the previous album can also be detected in the intro to the song "Hate The Human Figure!", which undoubtedly is the best song on the album with its varied sound and rather catchy melodies. The strongest folk influences you get however on "My Thoughts Be Punished", where you even get to hear some clean vocals that are being performed by above mentioned Jesper Jakobsson, whose voice fits really nicely with the music.

"The Need For Theory" is without a doubt CRUOR DEUM's best album so far, much thanks to the improved sound. The song material is also really strong and Martin shows once again that he's good at writing songs. It will be very interesting to see what CRUOR DEUM can achieve in the future with real instruments.

Written by: Janne

Terms of Inhumanity review by metal-only.com -- 2004-07-28

Svenska
"Terms Of Inhumanity" är den senaste demon av CRUOR DEUM, ett finskt enmansprojekt som Martin Gestranius står bakom och kan placeras inom melodisk death metal facket. All musik på demon är skapad med hjälp av dator och förutom Martin själv så medverkar även Jesper Jakobsson på sång i en av låtarna.

Att skapa musik på dator är kanske inte det mest uppskattade inom metallen, men trots detta så fungerar denna demo oväntat bra. Instrumenten låter inte alltför kliniska och konstgjorda, vilket jag tackar för, men lyssnar man mer noggrant så upptäcker man ändå rätt snabbt att det är programmerad musik man hör. Speciellt trummorna har en viss tendens att låta för stela. CRUOR DEUM visar dock att man mycket väl kan göra melodisk death metal med hjälp av dator och även bra sådan. Diskussionen om det är fusk eller ej att använda dator ska jag dock inte gå in på och betygsättningen av den instrumentala delen kan jag av förklarliga skäl inte heller säga så mycket mer om. Det jag dock kan konstatera är att Marin verkligen visar att han kan skriva bra låtar och arrangera de olika instrumenten. Speciellt "Astral From Sick Patterns" är en riktigt bra låt och även den avslutande "Wordless Sound Poem" är en mycket välfungerande instrumentell låt.
"Balladen Om Herr Fredrik Åkare Och Fröken Cecilia Lind" är säkert inte en helt obekant visa för några, och speciellt då jag nämner att den ursprungligen är skriven av Cornelis Vreeswijk så borde klockor börja ringa. Detta är dock första gången jag hör en metal cover av denna visa, vilket är riktigt kul.

"Terms Of Inhumanity" är en bra demo och det enda som egentligen saknas är äkta instrument. Låtarna är välfungerade, men jag tror inte att CRUOR DEUM kommer att nå speciellt långt så länge datorn har hand om all musik. Ett stort plustecken för Cornelis Vreeswijk covern dock!


English
"Terms Of Inhumanity" is the latest demo by CRUOR DEUM, a Finnish one-man project that Martin Gestranius stands behind and can be placed under the melodic death metal category. All the music on the demo is created by a computer and besides Martin, Jesper Jakobsson also helps out with some vocals on one of the songs.

To create music with the computer is maybe not the most appreciated thing within metal, but despite that the demo works surprisingly good. The instruments don't sound too clinical and artificial, which I'm grateful for, but if you begin listening more carefully you will still notice quite quickly that it’s programmed music that you hear. Especially the drums have a slight tendency to sound too stiff. CRUOR DEUM shows however that you can do melodic death metal with a computer and also good one. I won't get into the discussion whether it's cheating or not to use the computer and for obvious reasons I can't say much more about the judgement of the instrumental part. I can however state that Martin really shows that he can write good songs and arrange the different instruments. Especially "Astral From Sick Patterns" is a really good song and also the finishing "Wordless Sound Poem" is a well-written instrumental song.
"Balladen Om Herr Fredrik Åkare Och Fröken Cecilia Lind" is surely not a totally unknow ballad to some, and especially when I mention that it was originally written by Cornelis Vreeswijk some bells should start ringing. This is though the first time that I hear a metal cover of this ballad, which is really fun.

"Terms Of Inhumanity" is a good demo and the only things that are really missing are the real instruments. The songs are good, but I don't think that CRUOR DEUM will come that far as long as the computer handles all of the music. One big extra point for the Cornelis Vreeswijk cover!

Lies Shall Command review by metal-only.com -- 2005-09-10

Svenska
Jag bekantade mig för första gången förra året med Martin Gestranius skapelse CRUOR DEUM då en hans många demon föll ner i min brevlåda. Nu, ett år senare, är det då dags för fullängdaren "Recubo Mos To Order - Lies Shall Command", som är bandets tredje album.

Stilmässigt finner man inte några större skillnader från tidigare material, förutom att jag tycker mig ana lite folkinfluenser här och där, i övrigt är det samma melodiska death metal med svaga black metal influenser som gäller. Musiken skapas fortfarande på datorn, förutom sången som Martin sköter själv. Rörande sånginsatserna så är jag inte helt nöjd denna gång, då growlet inte riktigt sitter där det ska alla gånger, men klart godkänt är det. Den stora förbättringen på detta album är gitarrmelodierna som verkligen lyfter upp albumet, både kvalitémässigt och autenticitet rörande ljudet. Tyvärr väger en nackdel nästan lika tungt och det är programmeringen av trummorna. Det låter helt okej så länge tempot inte är speciellt högt, men genast då tempot förhöjs så börjar trummorna låta väldigt programmerade och stela. Bra exempel på detta finner man i den tredje låten "Illic Ero Obscurum! - There Will Be Darkness", som annars är en bra låt, men som innehåller en stund av rasande tempo som tyvärr drar ner hela låten. Men då musiken rör sig mer kring midtempo fungerar det hela betydligt bättre och det är till och med svårt att höra att alla instrument är programmerat. "May Hope Stand Alone" och "Csejthe" är bra exempel på riktigt lyckade låtar där just tempot hålls mer kring midtempo och därmed till mångt och mycket saknar problemet med trummorna. "Csejthe" ger för övrigt lite FINNTROLL vibbar, så bl.a. här hittar man delvis de små spår av folk jag nämnde tidigare.

CRUOR DEUM tar ett kliv framåt med "Recubo Mos To Order - Lies Shall Command", men har ändå en bra bit kvar tills allt sitter där det ska. Problemen sitter främst i ljudet och programmeringen, så får Martin ordning på det så kommer CRUOR DEUM med det redan välgjorda låtmaterialet att verkligen kliva stora steg framåt.


English
Last year I got acquainted for the very first time with Martin Gestranius creation CRUOR DEUM when one of his many demos fell into my mail box. Now, one year later, it's time for the full-length album "Recubo Mos To Order - Lies Shall Command", which is the bands third album.

There aren't any big changes regarding the style when comparing to previous material, except that I seem to hear some folk influences here and there, otherwise it's the same melodic death metal with weak black metal influences. The music is still created with the use of the computer, except of course the vocals, which Martin does himself. I'm not however all pleased with his efforts behind the microphone, since the growls don't sound as good as they should all the time, but on the overall the performance is good. The big improvement on this album is the guitar melodies, which really lifts the album, both regarding the quality as well as the authenticity of the sound. Unfortunately there is a disadvantage that weighs almost as much and that is the programming of the drums. It sounds okay as long as the tempo isn't too high, but immediately when the tempo goes up the drums start to sound really programmed and stiff. A good example of this can be found in the song "Illic Ero Obscurum! - There Will Be Darkness", which otherwise is a good song, but unfortunately contains a moment of furious tempo that brings down the whole song. But when the music moves around in mid-tempo it works much better and it's even quite difficult to hear that every instrument is programmed. "May Hope Stand Alone" and "Csejhe" are good examples of really good songs in which the tempo is held more around mid-tempo and therefore doesn't have the same problem with the drums. "Csejhe" have by the way some FINNTROLL vibes in it, so here you can quite easily hear some of the traces of folk I mentioned above.

CRUOR DEUM takes a step forward with "Recubo Mos To Order - Lies Shall Command", but has still got some way to go before everything falls into place. The problems are mostly found in the sound and programming, so if Martin gets this under control, CRUOR DEUM will take huge steps forward with the already really good song material.

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