Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Kreation Kodex
Label: On Parole Productions
Release: 2011
Length: 45:00
Rating: 4.5/5
Kreation Kodex started out in 2004 as a side project of Alen Murtić (guitar) and Jana Sluga (keyboards), and soon after drummer Grega Ambrožič joined, it grew into a full-blown band. The trio were then joined by Miha Kosmač on second guitar and Timotej Franetič on bass, and after a long search for the right vocalist, the instrumental five-piece took on a “session” vocalist, Alex S. Brodschneider. With him, the band recorded the demo Pleasure Deeds Flesh (2008), but Alex left the group not long after. Vocal duties fell to guitarists Alen and Miha themselves, the lineup was rounded out by female vocalist Nita Premrov, and with this crew Kreation Kodex released their debut Puzzles of Flesh on On Parole Productions.
As an ominous bell tolls in the intro, Kreation Kodex take you by the hand and lead you in a danse macabre on a stroll through the nine circles of (Dante’s) hell. Cerberus waits at the gates, sinks his fangs into your helpless neck, and as you slowly exhale in a puddle of your own blood, waiting for the cold darkness to embrace you, Kreation Kodex slowly cut into the flesh, and the last thing you see before your eyes is a jigsaw of meat slowly taking shape. That is exactly the kind of ominous atmosphere that pervades the debut of these Primorska-region natives, because with Puzzles of Flesh, every single minute seeps with that feeling of just waiting for something Lovecraftian to grab you out of the dark, something that can’t be pinned with a human name. From the very first moments of the opener Kult of Starspawn, Kreation Kodex successfully build an atmosphere of darkness, gloom and the occult. And they do it without resorting to the cheap tricks of pompous symphonics for their own sake. Instead they plunge us into the dusk with razor-sharp riffs, inhuman vocals and ambient keyboards that together build a hulking wall of sound. Puzzles of Flesh is a record stuffed with elements, as Kreation Kodex roam the realms of black and death metal and brush up against (Swedish) melodic death metal and gothic metal. But the band keeps this apparent chaos firmly under control, and the songs never sound like a failed experiment. Instead they’re soaked in a strong sense of naturalness and organic flow. On top of that, they stand out for their excellent dynamics, as they’re as writhing as the tentacles and unfathomable limbs of the otherworldly Nyarlathotep. The energy and variety of the songs come from two powerful vocals: Alen’s higher, black-metal shriek and Miha’s deep, brutal death metal growl, which deliver the lines of the excellent misanthropic lyrics with tireless intensity and power. A touch of tenderness and fragility is added to this mighty, raw vocal tandem by the fantastic voice of Nita Premrov, who now and then takes your breath away with her female vocal lines and a spectacular operatic delivery (though this beauty is really a beast, because, true to the album’s dark atmosphere, in the next moment she throws you onto the rocks like a siren). This vocal duality shines brightest in the mighty half-ballad Mourning Angel (Sometimes They Return). The album’s epic flavor, meanwhile, comes from the carefully thought-out guitar lines, which are rhythmically incredibly strong and clearly drew their biggest inspiration from Swedish melodic death metal, so there’s no shortage of guitar harmonies and melodies, but also no shortage of the black metal “bee-swarm” (fast tremolo picking) and a bit of a punch with proper death metal riffs. The rich arrangements and varied structures are further enriched by ambient keyboards, which quietly but surely build the album’s mighty atmosphere in the background and flesh out the sound with almost classical piano lines, shining brightest in the chilling, tragic finale of The Monument of Descending. The real spirit of the album comes from the slightly rough, unpolished sound, which gives Puzzles of Flesh its charm and an interstellar feel.
Puzzles of Flesh is without a doubt one of the nicest surprises on the Slovenian metal scene lately, and Kreation Kodex are daring and bold when it comes to mixing genres. Their debut is a powerful musical testament that sinks its long claws into your memory and echoes there as loudly as the drumming and chanting of Cthulhu’s cult – Cthulhu fhtagn, Kreation Kodex fhtagn!
Lineup
Alen Murtić – guitar, vocals
Jana Sluga – keyboards
Miha Kosmač – guitar, vocals
Timotej “Timo” Franetič – bass
Gregor Ambrožič – drums
Nita Premrov – female vocals
Production
Domen “Dyz” Justin and Kreation Kodex
Tracklist
1. Kult of Starspawn
2. Verbum Pythonicum
3. MoonReich
4. Darkness Breathes Divine
5. Deathnation
6. A Lux Lucis Profundus In Obscurum
7. Mourning Angel (Sometimes They Return)
8. Synthetic Humanoid
9. Laceration(s)
10. Novelty, Gods, Depravity
11. The Monument of Descending
