Crown of Madness – Elemental Binding (EP)
Release Date: 23rd February 2023
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Dissonant Death Metal
FFO: Ulcerate, Warforged, Gorguts, Atræ Bilis.
Review By: Rick Farley
I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing Vancouver’s, BC’s dissonant death metal duo Crown of Madness on their debut EP, The Void, in March 2022. An eighteen-minute EP loaded with exploding technicality and swarms of discordance. Now just a little under a year later, we are graced with EP number two, Elemental Binding, once again being self-released by vocalist/guitarist Sunshine Schneider and drummer/producer Connor Gordon. These four brutal tracks, spanning fifteen minutes in length, serves as a representation of what can be expected once the band release their debut full length, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Elemental Binding takes a more direct death metal approach riff wise than did the previous EP. The crisp guitars feel a little less airy in places and more concise with a tighter crunch. That’s not true of the entire EP, but whereas The Void was a little looser in terms of dissonance with ample space to breath, Elemental Binding really shines in the sharpened riffs technical aspect, melding things together more evenly. Which in turn creates a more intoxicating mix of precision and atmosphere that at times feels horrifyingly claustrophobic. At moments, flowing like a stream in many different directions and at other times, in your face techy brutality. The guitar work is stunning with intricate layers that weave, twist, and crush. Mangled and honed, without ever being incomprehensible, everything feels in place but completely chaotic at the same time. The guitar tones are wickedly metallic and sound razor sharp. The extreme vocals from Sunshine are unhinged in the best possible way, sounding full and harshly grotesque. Fittingly perfectly with the ambitious but sledgehammering soundscape, her gutturals are powerful and have an aesthetically pleasing tone to them. Connors drum are aggressive and mixed perfectly, sounding thick and attacking. His stick work enhancing the songs with lighting fast fills and deep pounding double bass. The tempos jerk back and forth while his drums remain fiercely steady. His difficult drum patterns sound effortless and fluid.
Track two, A Wrenching Nostalgia, is a swarming, blackened taste of discordant death metal. The riffs swirl and weave around the darkness like a malevolent spirit. Interchanging between open atmosphere and concise tremolo picked notes piercing through the darkness, creating an intensely ethereal experience. The bass guitar is low and adds weighty depth to the openness, while the drums are moving between blasting and double kick. There’s an inherent power to the song that feels like massive waves crushing the air out of your lungs. It abruptly ends just as it feels like it’s going to smash you into dust.
As I said in their last EP review, I don’t have a lot to go one as far as reviewing. Actually, a little less this time around, but what Crown of Madness is showing between then and now is something to be excited about. The difference between the two EPs is not massive, but the song writing on Elemental Binding seems woven a little tighter with a more fluent direction, pointing to a future full length that has potential to be something special. 
(4 / 5)
