The German band Rise of Kronos has released their fifth album, Slaves of Time. I remember discovering the band through their album Imperium, released in 2024, which I have a very good experience with. Hailing from Hamburg, the band was formed in 2021 and has established itself over the years as a major player in the extreme metal scene thanks to a sound that blends death metal and thrash metal, simultaneously fast, violent, and chaotic. The band defines its genre as Olympic Death Metal.
Slaves of Time is the band's longest album, with 12 tracks totaling 47:12, allowing the musicians greater creative freedom. The tempo is fast and aggressive. The guitars are sharp, raw, and melodic, with several solos adding an epic dimension, such as on the track Slaves of Time from 3:35 onward, and particularly the performance at 4:06, which perfectly illustrates this epic feel. Meanwhile, the drums pound relentlessly and stand out on tracks like Escalate the Rot from 1:13 with its continuous blast beats, or again on Slaves of Time from 1:31. The blast beats at the end of Poison of the Gods are also among the most remarkable.
I'd classify the album as death metal, neither too classic nor too modern. There are fairly frequent tempo changes, the most striking being on Black Breath starting at 2:55. Darker sections are also present, such as the intro to Lit The Sky or the opening of Poison of the Gods. On the track Into the Ashes, I detected some echoes of the previous album, Imperium. Overall, the album is more technical and complex than its predecessor.
The vocals are deep, relentless growls, perfectly complementing the chaotic atmosphere. At certain moments, a higher-pitched vocal appears, such as on Escalate the Rot from 0:41 or on Black Breath at 1:20. The vocals reach their peak on tracks like Poison of the Gods, particularly from 2:38 and 3:12 onwards. As for the production, I find it impeccable, bordering on perfection and allowing the listeners to appreciate every section.
I added the song Black Breath to my annual Death Metal Playlist on Spotify
Among the moments that thrilled me, there was the unleashing of the instruments at the opening of the track Custodians of Reality, a fast and violent cadence supported by a well-crafted drum performance. I also enjoyed the track Black Breath; in my opinion, it's one of the most technical and complex tracks on the album. The performance on Poison of the Gods is equally striking, and the solo that kicks in at 2:48 demonstrates the complexity of the composition. I also liked the composition starting at 2:27 on The Liberation, one of the darkest moment on the album.
To be honest, it took me several listens to grasp Rise of Kronos' new direction, which presents an album quite different from anything I'd heard from the band before. It's raw, melodic, old school, and modern all at once. I don't think Slaves of Time is any less interesting than Imperium; on the contrary, it follows in their footsteps, offering a more complex and technical brand of death metal. KALOS to the band.
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