D-beat Review: Krömosom – Live Forever

Within my university life I have had frequent exposure to cybergrind and noisecore, whilst maintaining particular passions for the more punk-routed powerviolence and the extreme grind stylings of The Gerogerigegege. That said, the first thing that struck me upon listening to Krömosom was the sheer sonic brutality. The second track on Live Forever, ‘Bred to Lose’, hits you from the off with pounding drums so dense and fast that, at times, you can barely distinguish them from the mix. This sheer aural madness is produced not by using hundreds of pedals and a hefty amount of electronics, but rather by physical annihilation of their simple instrumental set-up.

As is often the case with bands who, upon first glance, have an almost unapproachable density and violence to their soundscapes, once the initial shock wears off, rhythms and melodies are so prominent that I question why I couldn’t initially pick out the catchy punk refrains from under the scuzz. It’s really these driving riffs and drum lines under the noise that push Krömosom to so effectively convey the kind of aggression that smashes up the party at 5am. Would some pretentious Wire (magazine, not band) devotees argue that it’s immature? Probably. But they’re missing out on all the fun.

Live Forever is being released by Southern Lord on Monday 21st January.

‘Bred To Lose’ was played on the final broadcast of Outhouse, Thursday 17th January.