Nightfly A four piece from Pennsylvania, USA and formed in 2013, Black Crown Initiate are a new band to me, their 2014 debut The Wreckage Of Stars having somehow passed me by.

The music on this, their second album, Selves We Cannot Forgive is impressive to say the least. A blend of progressive and technical death metal the eight compositions twist and turn through numerous changes from the quietest sublime moment to full throttle death metal. There’s no time to get bored as the music is constantly shifting with some impressively inventive riffs and rhythmic structures. The music can be quite atmospheric in the calmer moments and pleasingly it’s not all about complexity over songs, although they have the necessary chops for it, as they manage to inject a healthy dose of melody in there too. The vocals are a mixture between clean and death growls – about 50/50 I’d say which works well in the framework of the songs. Not surprisingly the standard of musicianship is high as it needs to be to play this sort of stuff, aided by a powerful production. As if to show where some of their influences have come from there’s a bonus track on the vinyl version of King Crimson’s Fallen Angel closing the album. Whilst it doesn’t improve on the original in any way they handle the tracks nuances with ease.

I’m really impressed by Selves We Cannot Forgive and looking forward to checking out that debut. Definitely a band to keep an eye on in the future.