I probably complain about genres more than maybe is necessary. But I cannot help feeling it’s just for marketing purposes only. As anyone donating their time to the unknown, you need the picture to be formed as a simple structure, and you build upon that.
Krv’s self-titled burst is very much giving me the genre headache I get too often (probably because I need to lighten up).
I’ve seen a few places trying to label this release, allude you with anything it can. This is a Black Metal release. The reason why I say this, part from the obvious. Is it covers its bases very well to make sure, it’s a Black Metal release.
A French metal outfit, a side offering from Nicolas Zivkovich and Louis Lambert was written and recorded by the pair, and tracked in Lambert’s home recording studio. The obvious here is, two friends come together to create something they’ve wanted to do. Being influenced and driven, you can hear all of that on this album. Imagine that concept. Multi-instrumentalists, a recording studio and a passion. You are going to be at it, night and day! Because that is the love of music and that is what we have with Krv’s release.
But, you also have frankly a very average release. Because as I noted with genre defining, this is a Black Metal release by the numbers. Though it’s impressive to be delivering vocals in French, Serbian and English (Krv, pronounced Kurv, is ‘Blood’ in Serbian), don’t forget it’s a frantic pace of screaming and whaling guitars with a drum machine backing some of the aspects to each song.
It’s nothing spectacular. Black metal veterans will no doubt know all the tropes, because it ticks the boxes of ‘qualify it for’ that genre bracket.
Good listen? Yeah, was alright. Rememberable? Nope. Are we here to damn and blast, no. This after all is a passion project, can’t take that away. But I cannot see this going anywhere. One listen, a nod and ‘yeah’, it’s a standard Black Metal effort that isn’t going to be remembered.

KRV: KRV – Out 17th April (Chien Noir Records)