Kruger - For Death, Glory and the End of the World
Listenable Records
Sludge / Post-Hardcore
9 songs (46'34")
Release year: 2010
Listenable Records
Reviewed by Alex
Surprise of the month

Swiss Kruger baffled me at first. Definitely with their moniker (a nod to Freddy Krueger?), but more so with their music. The timing of it was that I could not savor the first couple of listens without interruption, rather a necessity for this album, but slowly the pure curiosity as to what the heck to call the style Kruger play sucked me in. And, ultimately, does one really need to care how to label this brew appropriately, if innovation is evident and unexpected enjoyment creeps in, something that is often a struggle for me with many modern metal bands on Listenable roster?

Kruger do it by jamming together idiosyncratic riffs, sludgy texture, post-hardcore pulsating percussion, distraught anxious vocals by Reno, often in the back of the mix, while swirling multiple discernible guitar melodies underneath it all. Take this concoction and imagine it rolling forward constantly, with the stubbornness, fitting of The Ox, the title of the album opener. Cleansed by the dreamy jangly airy Dukes of Nothing, which eventually veer our of control in its hypnotic state, or put into meditation by the closer Turpitides, many moments on For Death, Glory and the End of the World absolutely help to decompress and levitate, something I can rarely associate with the word “hardcore” found anywhere in the band’s music description. Kruger manages to do it, and very cleverly so, when they slip subtle, but very brainy, percussion into the towering Anthem of Pretended Glory or reverberating Villains. Slowly the wails grow bigger, heaviness climbs up, but vital effervescent bass lines continue to occupy center stage and every guitar string resonates in this surprisingly well recorded wall of sound. The shimmering detunage of Centre is a perfect segue into Our Cemetery is Full of Strangers, the tune full of angst and brood, going through self-tight wounding, tension palpable to the limit.

Even the heavier, ‘corish tracks on the album, Return Of The Huns and Muscle, do not fall into the trap of empty meaningless machine gun riffs, instead filling the fray with sliding chords and same progressive rhythm section.

While Converge is the farthest from I what I can call “my thing” in extreme metal, I have to wholeheartedly admit that Kurt Ballou’s recording prowess on For Death, Glory and the End of the World is half of Kruger’s success. Call it up-tempo sludge or progressive modern day hardcore, but the clarity of being able to discern layers on the album absolutely promotes the desire to hear more of it, to spin the song one more time to try and isolate the instruments and experience the flow of, alternatively, the drums, bass or guitars.

An obvious and unexpected surprise I recommend the album for those with a headache, on an hour drive to nowhere in particular, where you can just set your gaze on the road, oblivious to the surroundings. Advil or not in your glove compartment, you will arrive to your destination fast, not cognizant of the time which flew by and, possibly, with the refreshed new perspective on what some modern bands can do, if they don’t just want you bashed and slammed.

Killing Songs :
Anthem Of Pretended Glory, Villains, Our Cemetery Is Full Of Strangers
Alex quoted 83 / 100
Other albums by Kruger that we have reviewed:
Kruger - Redemption Through Looseness reviewed by Cody and quoted 65 / 100
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