REVIEW: Krematorium - Sinister Seduction

Krematorium’s sophomore album Sinister Seduction is, in a word, fun. Pulling inspiration from 80's thrash metal and the new wave of heavy metal, the Croatian quartet have put together eight characterful songs filled with personality, and killer riffs to boot. 

Album opener ‘Stonehearst Asylum’ doesn’t ease the listener into its soundscape, starting as fast as the album means to continue and giving the energy of the song a band would be playing in a bar in a slasher movie that becomes background noise as the killer starts his spree. This vibe is solidified with the maniacal laugh that ends the track.

Its follow up ‘Moonshine Rider’ serves the first of the riff heavy tracks that are emblematic of the project from its first-verse solo while Domagoj Fišeković sings of riding motorbikes at night and wanting to break free atop a floor lead bride before the second shred of the 4:16 track. Even with the themes of being trapped and alone, the feeling is that of a group of technically brilliant musicians messing around in the studio after listening to too much Slayer - in the best way possible. 

As usual, it is the third instalment on Sinister Seduction that stands out in its first half - ‘Manhunt’. Still packed with riffs, but this time they're accompanied by stabby double bass drums, and a tempo that gets the adrenaline pumping as if one is being chased. This keeps up until the final instrumental, where a beautifully executed half-time breakdown is gifted to the ears; whether it is Erik Perušić or Sebastian Živković shredding on top of it in the final stretch, it scratches the solo-craving itch in the brain wonderfully. 

Upon hitting the midpoint there comes the upbeat-feeling ‘Go Getter’, a jumpy NWOTHM offering, and ‘D.F.T.E’, which somehow manages to get even faster with less stoppages, just at the moment on the record where the standard midpoint lull on each track was starting to get a little repetitive. This said, the even-less-break structure gets a tad repetitive from here on out, which is a shame as each track on Sinister Seduction is solid-to-banger status, leading to the feeling that Krematorium may be best seen live to fully enjoy their work. 

In any case, Krematorium do send it sky high in the final three tracks of Sinister Seduction; ‘Scream 'n' Shout’ gives a more hardcore feel than the rest of the tracklist, most notably in places where they opt out of the live mix but keep a more raw screamed vocal. Its soundscape is also the one that pulls the least punches, launching into its solo with a welcome guitar screech before the shredding begins - it would’ve been nice for Dorian Perušić to have a little more time in the sun from behind the kit, but alas, this is not the way with riff metal.    

‘Reign of Terror’ is the longest offering, clocking in at just under five minutes, but makes the most of it through a more-is-more approach: more speedy guitar solos, more group-shouted choruses, and more funky sounding scales to separate each part. There is a little more love given to Perušić in the second act instrumental too which was nice to hear. For closer ‘Blackened Sky’, they opt for a swinging soundscape as the track develops, still pulling no punches to get the blood pumping one more time, as they close out the album with apocalyptic thrash metal combined with all the trimmings. 

It’s hard not to listen to Sinister Seduction without a smile; frankly, the smile on Domagoj Fišeković’s face can almost be heard in his recording of vocals. The whole project feels like friends jamming the same songs they’ve played for years - polished in their execution but laid back in their performance, which adds an air of jolliness to a long-labelled satanic genre. Sinister Seduction is an ideal addition to any thrash enjoyers repertoire, and by the sounds of it you might need to keep an eye out for Krematorium, so you don’t miss them in a city near you.

Score: 8/10

Sinister Seduction will be released on May 23rd 2025 via Witches Brew.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Krematorium