How many bands openly follow Black Sabbath? A burning question indeed, but the founding fathers have gathered more worship than any other metal group, and thus, we have several auditions wallowing in doom without any intelligence; however, Kranium can kick a room full of asses. As they’ve been slithering under the radar for several years, Kranium has been involved with several sounds, yet “Testimonios” finds them reaching toward a hardy agenda based on “Paranoia” and other Black Sabbath classics. Sounds pretty bland, doesn’t it? If you think so, wait until strange folk-laden instruments and death metal influences softly stroke this typical sound, making it what these Peruvian shredders are all about: both commonness, and obscurity.

You’ve definitely heard some Sabbath at least a million times, therefore, you can probably make an accurate picture of what this album associates with. Slow, hammering riffs layered upon crushing percussion, powerful bass playing, and keen vocals that stretch across these low patterns regardless of length. Punch after punch, it becomes rather obvious within milliseconds of listening that Kranium has no intention to speed up or change attitude; they are doom metal entirely. But what about Kranium’s own diversion that leads away from musical copycatting? After all, doing exactly what Black Sabbath did doesn’t merit an identity, so where’s the DNA?

Asking such questions lead us to discover “Testimonios” and its hidden treasures: bizarre mixtures of folk touches and diabolically-charged death metal sandblasters amongst doom-laden musicianship. Right when things begin to look a bit grim, flutes and other interesting experiments begin hovering above and around while that unrushed distortion slowly induces a natural high; quite an interesting result when these two entities meet. Even better, low growls are occasionally applied in acute intervals, making everything appear much more distinct and individual than one could easily anticipate. A few collections of all Kranium’s genetics equate to “Testimonios” entirely, and we can accurately see how just a little touch of difference causes a long trail of pleasure.

So in conclusion, Kranium's reign of folk-influenced doom metal comfortably strokes all pleasure systems from start to finish, even if you're an uptight douche with no patience or dignity when it comes to solid Sabbath worship. I really enjoy how Kranium delightfully layers everything in uncharacteristic folk touches and occasionally dives straight into death metal’s spikes, making a traditional metal CD anything but traditional, but I guess that’s the point. These dudes easily manipulated so many different combinations into their own safe, and with the code cracked, this record reveals an inner price one could never foresee; it’s truly an original release. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, give “Testimonios” a grab.