Krallice - Prelapsarian LP

Eight years, five albums, and two EPs in, the New York-based outfit Krallice have long since shut up purists about their “hipster black metal.” Their four-man, post-structural assembly line runs at a breakneck pace, taking great care to balance the intricate (Colin Marston and Mick Barr’s interlocking riffs, Lev Weinstein’s head-spinning polyrhythms) with the incendiary (best exemplified by Barr and Nick McMaster’s shared, animalistic vocal duties; the former’s a screaming eagle, the latter a growling hellhound). The quartet frequently capitalize on the element of surprise; Krallice’s last two releases—2015’s Ygg Huur and last winter’s Hyperion EP—dropped spontaneously, a pair of inter-dimensional rifts masquerading as albums, far from the hum of the hype machine. Early last month, the band opened the portal once more to announce their sixth album Prelapsarian, subsequently released sans fanfare on the Winter Solstice. Upon first glance, Prelapsarian, which the band recorded last sum