An intriguing mix of countrymen Catamenia (gruff vox, melodic death), Children Of Bodom (pop sensibilities, dual guitar melodies) and Before The Dawn (occasional clean voices). In fact, one of the Dawn’s vocalists, Lars Eikind, lends his talents on ‘Throne Of Sin’. Yet, despite all the positives, the band insists no label was interested in "Persistence" (fitting title), their sophomore effort, thus they are giving it away, for free, legal download (www.crystalic.net). ’New Time’ is trippy, sort of heavy prog, but the rest are heavy, although ‘Too Dark To See’ begins acoustically.

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