Krigsgrav Return with Blackened Doom "Stormcaller" <REVIEW>

“…atmosphere is consistently gripping, the guitar work shines…”

So a quick question… what do you think is in that skeleton mountain’s chest cavity? Gold? Jewels? Maybe a few corpses? All of the above? Probably a dragon orgy cave more than anything, but I haven’t seen anything come in or out to confirm. Meh, oh well, we’re here to talk some new metal shit!

Krigsgrav are not some fresh-faced kids lighting a pentagram-shaped candle in mom’s basement. No, this is an atmospheric blackened doom quartet from Dallas, Texas who’ve been at it for a while. Stormcaller marks their eighth full-length outing, hot on the heels of 2023’s Fires in the Fall.

So they know a thing or two about what they’re doing, but also they’re running the risk of being around long enough to become Suicide Silence… and we know how that turned out (traumatic flashback to 2017’s self-titled that broke metal Twitter in half)… anyways, this won’t happen here, I’m sure. Let’s get into it

The first thing that slams you in the earholes is the atmosphere. Not “background Spotify playlist for your witchy D&D session” atmosphere, but the kind that claws at your spine and makes you check if the shadows in your room are moving. It’s built upon the black metal instrumentation on Stormcaller while feeling somewhat fresh for this style.

Justin Coleman’s riffs are dark and catchy in a death metal sort of way, while his vocals are exactly what you expect from this genre: raspy, anguished, and perfectly at home with the mood. He doesn’t reinvent the corpse-painted wheel here, but he doesn’t need to. No one is expecting him to pull a King Diamond and belt out a sonata.

On the melodic side, Cody Daniels’ lead guitar adds a lot of flavor. The man can shred, sure, but it’s his tasteful, smooth leads that weave in melodic death metal touches without derailing the doom-black train.

Wes Radvansky holds down the low end with bass work that blends seamlessly, and David Sikora’s drumming is full of solid fills while keeping things on the ground. Also, he’s the band's clean singer. They don’t pop up often, but when they do, they elevate the atmosphere beautifully.

As I was listening, it became clear that the craftsmanship of the songs showcases the best of both the black AND doom metal worlds. Tracks like “Twilight Fell” nail the balance between tremolo-blast black metal chaos and doom’s lumbering stomp, while “None Shall Remember Your Name” shows off acoustic layering that adds more to the sound than the typical frog mating calls black metal bands call ‘vocals.’

But with doom metal comes something that can’t be avoided… the songs are hella long. These songs stretch out, and while that’s par for the course in atmospheric blackened doom, Stormcaller does feel its runtime, and you start to notice it creeping in before long.

The second half gets a little samey as well, even if Daniels’ shredding works overtime to keep things lively. It’s not a dealbreaker, but you might check the tracklist and think, “Wait, wasn’t this song playing 20 minutes ago?”

That said, when the band sticks the landing, it works. The closer, “Womb:Death:Dawn,” doesn’t quite torch the sky the way I hoped, but it still ends things on a strong note that felt satisfying.

Overall, Stormcaller is a solid piece of work and a solid addition to Krigsgrav’s catalogue. The atmosphere is consistently gripping, the guitar work shines, and the band clearly knows how to build tension and release.

Yeah, it drags a little in the middle, but if you’re the kind of listener who wants black metal frostbite mixed with doom’s crushing weight—and some killer shredding to sweeten the deal—you’ll feel right at home here.