Krallice

Krallice originated in 2007 when guitarists Mick Barr of Orthrelm and Ocrilim joined forces with Colin Marston of Behold... The Arctopus and Dysrhythmia to launch an intensely technical black metal endeavor whose sound evoked the earliest recordings by Burzum, Gorgoroth, and Ulver. Widely recognized among the foremost figures in contemporary black metal, the project delivered its self-titled first album in 2008 and subsequently produced a series of widely praised full-lengths and shorter releases, among them Diotima in 2011, Ygg Huur in 2015, and Wolf in 2019, each of which propelled the style toward bold new terrain.

Barr and Marston assembled the lineup in New York City, later expanding it to a quartet by recruiting drummer Lev Weinstein and bassist Nicholas McMaster; both McMaster and Barr also handled vocal duties. Issued on Profound Lore in 2008, the group’s debut combined ferocity with technical mastery and earned immediate critical acclaim, yet it was the boundary-pushing Dimensional Bleedthrough of 2009 and the emotionally charged, intricate Diotima of 2011 that solidified Krallice’s standing as black metal pioneers.

The band refined its characteristic fusion of dazzling guitar work, elaborate progressive structures, and raw blackened metal on the independently issued fourth album Years Past Matter, then in 2015 delivered the ominous Ygg Huur, shaped by the approaches of Gorguts and Altar of Plagues and titled after a composition by Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi. The year 2016 brought both the Hyperion EP and the album Prelapsarian, while 2017 saw a collaboration with Neurosis co-founder and bassist Dave Edwardson on the compact, robust Loüm, which was soon followed by the similarly intense Go Be Forgotten. In 2019 Krallice issued the fittingly titled Wolf, a fierce and unsettling EP that continued to disregard conventional heavy metal frameworks.