Cranial – Structures

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7.5

• Band:
  Cranial
• Duration: 00:43:44
• Available from: 02/10/2025
• Label:

• Moment of Collapse

It seems inevitable to go through the pain to produce music of a certain type: the cranials have suffered a lot in recent times, as they declare in the presentation of their third disc. And if of some of their personal events we rightly know little, we certainly have no difficulty in understanding the sensations experienced as a result of the death of their former drummer and founding member Cornelius Martin, who died last year from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The formation of Würzburg, after publishing two albums in three years – “Dark Towers / Bright Lights” in 2017 and “Alternate Ending” in 2019 – had disappeared from the radar, by pending a sudden interruption of its adventure; Apparently, there were many difficulties in braking, if not blocking, acting, while the will to be able to return and produce new music remained iron.
“Structures” then tries to give voice to all the jagged and unjust suffering of these years, trying to express it in a concrete language, explanatory of what has been lived and elaborated. The quartet, led by the former Omega Massif Michael Melchers (one of the two guitarists), tries to give his personal interpretation of all those peregrination sounds between Sudge, Hardcore, Crust and Doom, carved of post-metal visionaryness.
In their case, the post-Metal visions had so far been declined according to a spirit more similar to its dawn, therefore in the wake of sounds of the first decade of the 2000s. Almost a reality 'of other times', if we want, with a strong underground spirit to dictate its guidelines and action. Therefore, far from certain accommodation, sanding and melodosity showed by other realities like this in recent times.

ISIS and KNUT, in addition to the Omega Massif of course, were the names most easily combined with the Germans in the previous works. Entities that echo also today along the furrows of “Structures”, which faithfully to the identity of the group and all the assimilated negativity, does not properly present itself with solar and reassuring arias.
The four seems to be an important number for Cranial, because like the predecessors also “Structures” consists of four tracks, three of which are higher than ten minutes of duration: the wide -raised timing serve to the quartet to alternate rough and massive assaults and more cadenced seats, by bitter melodies and a melancholy sense of defeat to distinguish them.
The sound is perennially turbid and disheveled, at times lumoso as a crust-hardcore disc could be, an influence that remains central to the German's speech.
Connections with the previous discography, despite the years of parking, remain strong. The distinctive element of “Structures” is instead that of greater underlining of the melodies and atmospheric phases, as if there was the need to calibrate efforts with greater thought and less impulsiveness.
The less intransigent shades already had their role in the band's sound idea, but remained more in the background, despite already in “alternating endings” the first hints of what they heard today in “Stucutures” were noted. Now, while the cranials remain a tower, gloomy and aggressive formation, the miscellaneous of torments and prostrations of which they are protagonists takes a fold with less incessant, threatening tones; Or at least, the threat takes more sinuous ways, emphasizing minimal, thin solutions, almost as a soundtrack. In this sense, we think about the point of feet of “Into the Abyss”, with its battery submerged to dictate the times and a guitar drone to gradually rise in intensity, or to some algid harmonies that go to embellish the growing finale of the “Guidelines” opener.

In the entire album, rhythmic rigor, rudeness vocal and a guitar dough that, while remaining a greve and massive, is not afraid of daring, now closing in the rotting of Sudge, now opening up to sad and sinister arias, recalling the tragedies of “Darker Days Ahead”, or other lovers of long movements, thesis and in becoming, Ultha.
When the midtempls are particularly gloomy, the caracollands-as during the dark title-track-emerge more clear black and dath metal influences, giving further malice and depth to the disc.
“Structures” does not shine for originality or ideas who knows how personal and out of the choir; Nonetheless, he has an overall effectiveness of action and a songwriting that puts him above the average and gives a push forward to his authors, first more confused than other realities of the same circuit, while with this third album they can confront the competition with a high head, strong of a visceral work, direct expression of their most genuine emotions.