Chromium – Confessions of a Hero
How many of you automatically think of metal when the little town of Port Elizabeth, South Africa comes to mind? I didn’t either but one may think of Seether, whom hails from Pretoria, South Africa. For those of you interested, here’s a map of whereabouts Port Elizabeth is located. I know what you’re thinking right now–“Sweet, an album review AND a geography lesson–how can I go wrong?” Despite their small town roots and humble beginnings, Chromium has made a name for themselves in the form of 3 albums under their belt and representation in both USA and the UK. Small roots or not, the band is bound to be a worldwide hit with their metalcore/thrash/hard rock style, big grooves and a combination of growling and clean vocal work.
The first track “It Begins Here” immediately introduces you to the meat and potatoes that make this album infectious and memorable. Transitioning from a speedy groove to a half-time chug, the track infuses the throaty growls and clean vocals that become a staple in Chromium’s toolset. They’re a perfectly suited pair and really became one of the focal points for me when listening to Confessions of a Hero. “Finding My Own Escape” keeps the album rolling along with a stampede groove that prescribes headbanging and a volume knob that can’t turn right anymore as the only cures. This is one of my favorite songs on the album.
Chromium has something for almost everyone. Sure, if you’re coming from a diet of strictly death metal and gore it’s definitely not your cup of tea (“pfft, tea he says! I drink motor oil and blood!”), but the band is talented when it comes to mixing some edgier metal qualities with the more accessible side of hard rock. If you follow the “if it rocks, I’ll listen to it” theory when it comes to rock music, Chromium is worth a listen. Moving along to the track “The Last Time” some of the aforementioned accessible (often interchangeable with “mainstream”) qualities are on display. The chord progression and tempo is simpler yet delivered with care, and the grittier aspects are cleaned up a bit. The throaty growls that quickly become a staple of the album are completely absent in exchange for the cleaner vocal work. Tracks like “World of Lies” and “The Emptiness” deliver some really awesome bottom end, while songs like “Inner Demons”, “Replication” and closer “The Endless Need” wrap the whole package up with chug-hungry guitar work.
Although not one of the most technical albums I’ve heard, each track touched on a lot of the things I love in general about metal and hard rock music as a whole. I’ve found that with the metalcore genre there tends to be a lot of similarities in song structure and presentation throughout an album, and although Chromium doesn’t escape this ailment, it’s not largely detrimental. It’s a good album from a talented band. I wasn’t blown away by Chromium or Confessions of a Hero but they are by no means mediocre. I just feel like there are a handful of things on this album that I’ve heard elsewhere. Nonetheless, I like Chromium and have since welcomed them to my iTunes library as well as my iPod. So next time you think of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, think of Chromium and throw up some horns to honor them. Adam can show you how!
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14 Comments
August 12th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Brilliantly written review. I'm more of a "if it rocks, I'll listen to it" type, so I'll check these guys out. It reminds me a bit of More Than a Thousand – not the band per se, but the style of music, metalcore/hard rock, brutal enough for me to like it and commercial enough to be radio friendly and acessible.
By the way, the whole “pfft, tea he says! I drink motor oil and blood!” made me smile. Kudos to you.
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Jen replied:
August 12th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I don't hear MTAT really. I LOVE MTAT, but this is just kinda okay for me. :/
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Daryn St. Pierre replied:
August 12th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Thanks a lot for the kind words, Gabriel. I'm glad you dig the humor. I heard some slight nuances that made me think of MTAT. I really love MTAT and their latest album so it's hard for me to group them in with anyone else.
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Jen replied:
August 13th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
At first I thought, "WTF, Daryn? A map?" Then I saw the next line. haha
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Gabriel Pio replied:
August 12th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
I'll agree their latest album is gold, eargasm after eargasm. But what I meant about Chromium is not the sound, but the overall feel. But meh, I agree, they're nowhere as good.
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August 12th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
First impressions: That guy is wearing my Trivium shirt!
Second impressions: Killer review, mate. I'm still undecided about their sound, however. :/
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August 12th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Excellent review. I'm gonna have to give them a listen. And Gabriel is right, that tea comment was hilarious.
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August 13th, 2010 at 7:30 am
Hey Dude, thanks for the rad review! It felt good for it's time, and there are a few tracks off Confessions that go down well live, i'd love you to review the new album when it's completed. It's a whole new band i promise, and definatly going away from the "Metalcore" and more towards Thrash, and just plain old rocking out!
Thanks once again!
http://www.youtube.com/chromiumtheband for more video and sneak peaks on the future!
Much love to you all
\m/
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Daryn St. Pierre replied:
August 13th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Hey, Jared. I'd be more than happy to review the new one when it's ready. Just submit it when it's done and mention it to Lee. I'm sure he would send it my way anyways since I reviewed this one. I dig thrash so I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
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August 13th, 2010 at 7:38 am
They haven't toured the US and have only released 2 albums.
It really isn't that great…imo
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Daryn St. Pierre replied:
August 13th, 2010 at 8:58 am
They have representation in the US though. Also, everything I read said 3 albums but I think that includes the new one coming up, so I just grouped it in.
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August 13th, 2010 at 9:27 am
yeah working on the 3rd one as we speak, actually trying to get over next month for a festival, should our sponsors pull through!
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August 13th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Had to give my 10pence worth, as I found Chromium on the internet quite by accident and was blown away by them right from the start. I thought they were brilliant and couldn't believe they were South African as they are as good as any of the bands I have seen in Europe. Seeing them live in the UK was a highlight of a very good gig year (along with Devildriver, Trivium, Anthrax, Slayer and so on). I have listened to Confessions of a Hero and Intro Spectre over and over again and just love both albums! To hear some of my favourite songs live was an amazing experience for me. Chromium are world class and if the next album is as good as the last two – well I'll be a very happy girl. They are a 5 out of 5 for me. I LOVE CHROMIUM!!!
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Jen replied:
August 13th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
That's what it's all about. Thanks for checking out the review and commenting!
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