Initiate Yourself Into the Black Crown

Pennsylvania’s Black Crown Initiate are another new exemplar of the fast-growing modern prog-death scene – think mechanized hyperspeed technicality and shimmering chord flurries a la Fallujah and Slice The Cake. Add in crystal clear production and some articulate clean-tone noodling, then wrap it all up with the grooving Meshuggah worship that seems to be a prerequisite for this generation of technical metal. Though I wasn’t sure about the compositions initially, I can’t seem to stop jamming repeat on the (impeccably seamless) 20-minutes of music so they’re definitely doing things right. The clean vocals are a little hit or miss, but this EP is heavier than a titanium-clad blue whale (“The Mountain Top”) and it’s self-aware enough to know when it’s time to decelerate the pandemonium a little (“Ghost She Sends”). And those pauses in “Stench of the Iron Age” will fuck you sideways with a steamroller! Definitely a band to keep an eye out for in the future.

Stream “Stench of the Iron Age” and the rest of Song of the Crippled Bull below. You can pick up the EP from Bandcamp for $3.