Spanish old timers with a feel for comfort
Since 1994 Karonte have unleashed a slowly churning stream of death metal upon the Spanish masses from their homebase in Cantabria. Except from one change of drummer back in their demo days, Karonte has had a highly stable lineup, rendering their sound as steady as ever. Though often labeled as melodic death metal, the sound that greets the listener is laden with fat, simplistic and grooving guitars.
Karonte strive to meet expectations head on with an old school attitude through vicious death metal with a melodic tinge. On Paraíso Sin Fe, flashy melody comes second to groove-laden passages where guitars, bass and drums come together in a searing explosion of riffs and tight rhythms.
Karonte strive to meet expectations head on with an old school attitude through vicious death metal with a melodic tinge. On Paraíso Sin Fe, flashy melody comes second to groove-laden passages where guitars, bass and drums come together in a searing explosion of riffs and tight rhythms.
"Even when tides are high their grooves feel a bit too controlled and performed with a restraint that weakens the overall image."
There are times on this, their second album, where it would seem suitable to go a little more overboard on the whole spectrum. Even when tides are high their grooves feel a bit too controlled and performed with a restraint that weakens the overall image. Karonte obviously cultivate the notion that death metal doesn't have to be about speed and brutality alone, but groove and melody, in the same manner, can't stand its own without other aspects to provide a contrast.
It seems almost offensive to shoehorn Karonte into a box labeled "melodic death metal", because they are much more than that. Above all, Paraíso Sin Fe feels like the product of a band confident in their style and vision. It adequately mixes enough different elements to keep things interesting through the almost 40 minutes the album lasts, and most of all it feels sincere and more committed to their own ideals rather than fleeting trends.
Even so there is little achieved in terms of variation on Paraíso Sin Fe. You can't fault them for sticking with what works, but it is this that keeps them from truly soaring above the crowd. It is tempting to take a break or two while listening because little is going on, and it feels like you won't miss anything by leaving the room for a few minutes. Rather than keeping you at the edge of your seat, you're lulled into a sense of security.
It seems almost offensive to shoehorn Karonte into a box labeled "melodic death metal", because they are much more than that. Above all, Paraíso Sin Fe feels like the product of a band confident in their style and vision. It adequately mixes enough different elements to keep things interesting through the almost 40 minutes the album lasts, and most of all it feels sincere and more committed to their own ideals rather than fleeting trends.
Even so there is little achieved in terms of variation on Paraíso Sin Fe. You can't fault them for sticking with what works, but it is this that keeps them from truly soaring above the crowd. It is tempting to take a break or two while listening because little is going on, and it feels like you won't miss anything by leaving the room for a few minutes. Rather than keeping you at the edge of your seat, you're lulled into a sense of security.
6/10
Released in 2012 independently
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