Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Kryoburn - Enigmatic Existence - 2005 - Candlelight Records

Track Listing1. Transience 2. Singularity 3. Atman Project 4. Break Away 5. Against My Evil 6. Beneath Desire 7. De Animation 8. Self Dead 9. Leech 10. To Pieces

I have little to no patience for the more aggressive side of metal. Sure, I am the first to sign up for a new Stuck Mojo record or an Unleashed or Entombed release. But I really run into complications when hearing this MTV styled rumbling that seems to be popping up everywhere. Let's just call a spade a spade and say the type of metal being pushed out by Kryoburn has been done to death. Really, in all honesty how many times do we need to hear this? I cut my teeth on this type of sound in the 90s, with the likes of Machine Head, Overdose, Sepultura, Floodgate, Fear Factory, Pantera, Konkhra, and Dearly Beheaded just to name a very small few. Now I can hear this record at just about any K-Mart or Target, everyone, and I do mean everyone, seems to be able to play this styling.

My really big beef is obviously just the lack or originality. Kryoburn hails from New Mexico, with a good bit of tribal elements puffed into their punishing style. I would imagine that particular area just has that type of mood and sense to it. At this point in time the nu-metal scene has faded from sight, leaving those tribal type themes just a little generic and dated. Beyond the tribal elements comes piledriving guitar riffs, those bone-rattling, quick chops that really drive rivet into bone. This may be a good thing if you like your thrash that groove oriented and factory processed. For me I like to have a little variance to the madness, a bit of melody or loosely built grooves. Then again, this may be your specialty if you haven't tired from the Pissing Razors formula by now. And speaking of which, Eddie Garcia of Pissing Razors fame helped introduce this band to a wider audience, not only meeting and greeting the band but also producing "Enigmatic Existence" as well.

This will be manna from the Heavens for those of you into the more factory metal scene. Fans of everything from Crowbar to Mnemic should find plenty to like here. For me, I just need my powerful mead good and thick. Kryoburn just doesn't have that melodic facelift I need, and other than Saturday night experimentation, this one will just go by the wayside.

--EC 05.23.05