Review by Felix on November 9, 2019.

Ketzer from Germany is one of those bands that think change is a value in itself. Well, some formations need surely more change, because in some cases, every kind of change would mean an increase of quality. But the brigade of heretics ("Ketzer") started with a perfect debut - and this means that change can become your greatest enemy. And that's exactly the fact here, because the stylistic odyssey resulted in lukewarm, over-ambitious and partly pseudo-academic albums. Now comes Cloud Collider. It does not bring back the early days, but it has more power than its predecessor. Honestly speaking, they try to regain their old fan base - and this makes the whole change process all the stranger.

The album is my pill to schizophrenia. On the one hand, the group still consists of brilliant musicians who are able to create fantastic black thrash. On the other hand, I doubt their authenticity. In its best moments, Cloud Collider sounds like Satan's Boundaries Unchained without the juvenile energy of the debut. In the other moments, it conveys the vibes of a band that wants to be taken very seriously while showing its musical maturity. Many bands say they play the music mainly for itself and I am sure this is almost always a lie. But Ketzer might be one of those formations that have this mentality. Don't know. I just can say that they sit between the stools. Despite the raw vocals and some harsh attacks, the album does not have the dirt and snot of typical black thrash, but it also does not appeal to friends of adult metal.

The well-balanced production combines transparency and power so there is nothing to complain in this respect. Either way, Ketzer were always stable in terms of technical challenges and their manual skills are beyond doubt. But exactly this is the reason why it is all the more regrettable that they do not know their musical direction anymore. A solid number of tracks has exciting parts, but only a few of them, for example the multi-layered "(The Taste of) Rust and Bone", really leave a good overall impression. Every now and then some riffs appear which seem to be (pretty strong) leftovers of the debut, but you cannot recreate the same effect with this kind of approach. Ketzer should go home, take a tea, a joint or whatever they like and think about what they want to be. Everything else is a waste of time, or, to be more polite, results in a sonic document that cannot hide its weaknesses. Or, final alternative, maybe it just needs a more open-minded listener than I am..

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by ChadL on January 22, 2002.

Opener 'Perpetuation' is classic Krisiun. Their trademark full speed assault doesn't miss a beat. Alex's vocals are in top form, with a very peculiar riffing structure slithering it's way through the course of the song.

As the album goes on, the listener is exposed to guitarist Moyses Kolesne's flawless sweep picking technique on almost every solo in every song. Although technically amazing, his overuse of the sweep has reached a point where Krisiun solo's have become a stagnant cliche. He uses them to such and extent that none of his solo's stand out from one another.

Now, on to my main gripe with "Ageless Venomous": The production is very flat. While most bands seem to achieve a better production with each successive album, Krisiun has reached a career lowpoint. The overall production is very week sounding, with the guitars sounding slightly more powerful than the other instruments. The drums sound like they are being hit with a pencil, and the double bass, while technically amazing, has a click-click-click sound that takes away from the powerful material presented on the album. I know that they mentioned their reason for doing this was so that the listener would be presented with a very clean sound, so they could hear what each instrument is doing, but it doesn't work. Listen to Dimmu Borgir's "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" and you can hear each individual note from every instrument, without taking away from the power of the album. I do have to give them tremendous credit for stepping out of the Krisiun mold, and throwing in an acoustic instrumental though, which has to be, along with the opener, my favorite track.

I really wanted to love this album, because I am a fan of their entire back catalogue, but I just can't get into this album. This is due to the production and the fact that they just didn't seem to have put their hearts into this album as they have on previous efforts. None of the songs really make me want to put this disc in my cd player again, except the amazing ACOUSTIC instrumental 'Diableros'.

Bottom Line: A solid album, with great musicianship, but I know these guys can do better. The production really drags it down. If you have never heard Krisiun before, pick up "Apocalyptic Revalation" or "Conquerors of Armageddon" before you think about buying this one.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atomosphere: 6
Production: 4
Originality: 6
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.2 out of 10

Review by Krys on August 20, 2001.

I guess Krisiun wants to elucidate today’s definition of high speed, furious death metal, and what can I, a little worm on the other side of the music chain, say? Their new epic “Ageless Venomous” takes them one step closer to the undisputed title of the most brutal death metal band ever.

They are not there yet (about this a little later), but damn close. Those of you who know Krisiun know exactly what to expect from the Kolesne brothers and Alex Camargo. “Ageless Venomous” doesn’t disappoint, but I put the bar for them so high that I was looking for a little more.

Lets’ start with good news... as musicians those guys destroy most of their competition right now. Killer instrumentalists that’s all I got to say. Drummer Max Kolesne is one of the best the genre has to offer and if his double bass didn’t sound like popcorn machine, by now I would have permanent damage to my eardrums. His brother Moyses simply doesn’t know what slow means. The only ‘instrument’ that can compete with his guitar is a dentist’s drill. Mind-blowing solos, ultra-fast riffing are definite highlights of this album. Then there are the sick, convulsive growls of Alex who additionally molests his bass in a way that attempts to make the food in our stomachs fly all over the room.

Krisiun is brutal but intelligent. It’s simple but technical. It’s something you’ll love to blow your speakers on and something your neighbors will never want to hear... so turn it up a notch!

And now the bad news... I know that on one hand the idea was to make the most extreme death album ever and on the other it was to make it sound as clear as possible; but someone just took it to literally. This record is too clear. It almost gets to the point that it actually losses its fury and intended brutality because of it. If you want to hear this epic with grade 10 out of 10 go see them live. Every bit as good as on the album and then some...

Bottom Line: For Krisiun 9 is below (my) expectations. From them I demand and expect a full masterful package and this time they slipped on production.

Rating: 9 out of 10