The first EP release from these extremely rough and sadistic UK death metallers sees a surprisingly heavy performance that doesn't feels quite as atmospheric as it does blistering, complete with some flying solos as well. M seems to be responsible for most of that, since no one told him to slow down and he's going to keep pounding on that kit like his life depended on it. For some this might be too much, but in all honesty I think they can jump off a cliff if they're not satisfied here. There are usually acts where the blasts seem a bit too out of control, but here there is so much of a keen sense to rhythm and melody that we're not being asked to toil through what are some very long songs in all respects. “Serpent's Mirror” is a little over fourteen minutes in length, but due to the fact that A (guitars, vocals) and S (guitars) aren't afraid to change styles and tempos at the drop of a hat, we get more of a soundscape rather than floating in the mist. Three Devils Dance definitely has it's moments of that, but we can bang our heads as well as pull out our air-guitars. That's not a bad thing in my book, and I really hope that you're not shocked to see an atmospheric metal band actually playing heavy metal music. Three Devils Dance has a lo-fi quality that seems like it would benefit more from a vinyl, and almost feels like an old death metal record from back in the day. As we get into “Crypt Of Illusions Bane” things do get a little bit foggier due to the tone of R's dreadful bass riffs and it starts to sound like you are indeed inside of a fucking crypt; but the leads are still able to shine through it and we're not completely wading through the murk of similar acts. There's nothing wrong with murk or wading in it, but when you start to hear a lot of similar trends in this kind of metal, it often becomes a breath of fresh air (ironic, since we're talking about a crypt) when you start to hear the guitars really giving it their all as if we're watching a classic Slayer performance. But if they want to throw some Hell Awaits in here, I'm not going to be entirely opposed to it. Neither should you.
“The Divine Architect” really throws the mist on top of us, so it seems that “Serpents Mirror” is a bit of a clever fluke and more or less a warm-up for the foggy aftertaste that we're about to receive much later in the album. For the rest of it, you can pretty much think along the lines of Portal or Grave Miasma, which isn't so bad and gets the job done. This is their first EP so it's obvious that they're still getting things set up as far their sound and style is concerned and this is more or less a showing of what they can do. It's definitely enough for a live setting, even though they'd only really be able to play one song if not headlining, but there's just enough mystique here to do that one song justice. That to me really says something about these guys, as it's not exactly easy to craft a song of this structure and length, no matter how much you might think it is in the beginning. A listener that has never really composed music before might come into the line of thinking that just because a song might sound simplistic to them, means that it's very easy to craft. Unfortunately, that is definitely not the case. We often think that because of the foggy tone and texture of the music coupled with the drum blasts, this kind of death metal is very simple and very easy to make but as “Serpents Mirror” described with only a mere hint of the fog that would later fill the album, there's a great deal that goes into each of these pieces, especially if you're a band that doesn't want to bore the hell out of your audience. When I saw Portal, the show was physically draining. It had been an experience like none other that I've seen in my life. Though that wasn't because the band was a slog to get through, it's because they left a major impact on me. That's the same way I feel about Qrixkuor. The band still have a bit more to showcase and I'm sure that they will in time, but this is a respectively solid EP and I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on it, murk raiders.
(3 Tracks, 38:00)
8/10
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