Hangman's tree
-- Crowsview --
26/11/2021
Stijn Daneels
Album genres:
■ | Metalcore |
■ | Thrash Metal |
Album artists:
■ | Kevin Rouserez | Vocals |
■ | Jeroen Callens | Bass |
■ | Dieter Willem | Guitar |
■ | Levy Dedobbeleer | Drums |
■ | Christophe Vandenberghe | Guitar |
Review written by Stijn
"Metal Shredder" Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
I’ve first encountered
Crowsview back in 2018 when our Dutch comrades called Hard Life Promotion gave
me the chance to check out the band’s debut album “Lost Resistance” (read my
review: https://www.belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/91)
I already had contact with guitarist Dieter
Willem because he’s the brains behind the hardcore/metal crossover festival
Evil Or Die Fest. Crowsview has now returned with their first new single in 3
years’ time so let’s shred them again.
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Bitter
Victory” is the latest single from the Belgian metalcore band Crowsview and is
once again an independent release provided to us by Hard Life Promotion. The single will be featured as a track on
the band’s upcoming album for release in the first half of 2023
After a creepy
opening grind the band roars into action with their usual metalcore beats with
thrash metal undertones and crisp, shouting vocals. The short guitar solos do offer
the tune a fun diversion and hopefully we’ll be seeing more of the band’s
melodic side in their upcoming album.
One difference
I instantly noticed in “Bitter Victory” is its short runtime compared to the
band’s past material (their older songs usually were about 3 to 4 minutes long)
and that’s a good thing in my book. I’ve found Crowsview to fare the best when their
songs are short, aggressive outbursts and I’m glad the band has now cut down a
good chunk of unnecessary fat. The vocals, which I felt were rather underwhelming
in “Lost Resistance,” have also improved, with Kevin’s typical piercing shrieks
now sounding clearer and better balanced with the rest of the band’s sound.
All things
considered, not a lot has changed in Crowsview’s style and that’s certainly no
problem for me. “Lost Resistance” was already a fun album to shred through and now
with “Bitter Victory” I’ve got the impression that the band has taken
everything that worked in their previous stuff, removed the filler, enhanced
the mixing and added some sweet guitar jams. I’m looking forward to hearing
what else they’ll have in store for us in the near future.
[SHREDDING VISION]
The black-and-white
music video of “Bitter Victory” shows images of a bleak forest with two hooded
figures with one of them holding a bloodied axe. The forest scene is alternated
with footage of the band performing and at times both scenes intertwine with
each other. Eventually one of the hooded figures ends up hanged by the neck and
eventually the feet on one of the trees. Pretty weird stuff and I’m not sure
what to think of it. Is this meant to be an original take on a slasher flick or
is this a suicide drama? Who knows, but it’s pretty intriguing.
A nice
music video especially when it comes to editing as well as the fact that red
was the only color (aside from black and white), this art style makes me
think of the Sin City comics. However, I don’t like the excessive use of flickering
lights in the video since it made watching the clip multiple times quite tiring
for me, even with the occasional break.
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
7,5 axe-wielding
hangmen out of 10. A shorter & tighter tune compared to the band’s earlier work,
Crowsview’s new single is a fun and energetic thrashy metalcore tune that also
shows the band’s melodic evolution.