Thrash Metal was a Magazine from Spain, written in Spanish. But here's an article translated to English for you!
History Repeats Itself
CROM
CROM HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL BAND IN TERMS OF THEIR MUSICAL STYLE. PRAISED BY SOME AS A GOOD THRASH METAL BAND, AND AT THE SAME TIME REJECTED BY OTHER "HARDER" ONES AS A BAND THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS STYLE, LABELING THEM SOFT, CROM REMAINS, REMAINING AS ONE OF THE BEST BANDS IN OUR COUNTRY, IN TERMS OF MUSICAL QUALITY.
Having already passed several months since the release of "Wasteland", and still waiting for the band's arrival in the capital for the presentation of their album, I had a conversation with the band about different aspects of their music
-"We respect the music other people make, because we like them to respect ours, but you have to innovate, even though this country isn't for innovation. We're the first band to record an album in English, and at first everyone tore us to shreds, especially "El Pirata." We had to swim against the tide, and now... everyone records in English, which we're happy about, even if you end up never leaving Spain, or even your city. -But do you sing in English with an eye to the international market? -"No, we just like English, because it has more outlets than Spanish. There's one thing we don't quite understand. Kerrang! magazine gave us three-something stars, which isn't bad at all; and even so, we haven't released the album abroad, and there are all sorts of groups out there... In Spain they don't know the music business. There's no guys to play with, or anything. -Tell us about the cover of "Wasteland"
-"We had an idea, but we couldn't pull it off. We wanted something softer, more conceptual. A woman on a throne, half crying, half laughing, with a sword, very mystical. We made some sketches, and some seemed barbaric to us, others we didn't like... time ran out, and in the end that's the one we got, but it wasn't the idea. The cover is striking. You end up getting used to it."
-Are the new songs like the previous ones?
-"Some are similar to "Wasteland", others aren't. Something similar happened with our second album as with the first, "Steel for an Age". On the first album, the evolution between songs is very noticeable, from the first to the last. The same thing happened on the other, but the songs are more compact, and it's not as noticeable. There's an evolution that connects with "Steel for an Age". "Judgment Bell", from the first album, foreshadowed a bit what the second album was going to be like, and from this one, we connect with the next, although we're still evolving. It's the typical difference between a band that's starting out and a band that has three albums out. The other day I was listening to "Steel for an Age", on a depressing day, and I realized that apart from the sound, the vocals are very bad. When the cut was made, it lost a lot. I had two huge screens that sounded-
They sounded really good when you cranked it up. We weren't at the Ibiza mix, and it turned out really well, but it's missing something. Keep in mind it was recorded in six days, and on the first day, Gabi stayed at the hotel and missed the bar.
-How are things going with gigs now?
-"We want to deny something that's been said about Crom. When we were playing in Barcelona with Fuck Off and Muro, I was in the dressing room with a guy who was taking gigs to Madrid, and he wanted to take us to Madrid with Barricada. Barricada's manager said Crom wasn't playing. We're thrilled to play with them. There was no word that Crom didn't want to play with them. We don't care who we play with, as long as we play. And at a couple of gigs, we've even lost money. Some people think we don't play because we ask for too much money. Now we want to play in pubs and things like that. "The problem this country has is that it barely covers different styles of music. There you have the "Dynamo" festival, with an audience that listens to Savatage, Nuclear Assault, Sanctuary... There's no audience for that here. How many people buy records by these bands? However, abroad, those who listen to Judas Priest also listen to those bands.
Luis: "I've been saying since the band formed that we should look for a lead singer, and they're like: 'No way! No way! You sing! You sing!' If we don't have a lead singer, it's because we can't find one. A guy who sings amazingly, and me doing backing vocals, sounds fantastic. The thing is, we can't find one, at least not here in Valladolid."
This was more or less the most important part of the whole interview, aside from jokes and curious things they told me about the band's history. There's no doubt that the guys have a very well-developed sense of humor, since we didn't stop laughing all afternoon. Aside from those aspects of their personality, I have to say that it's clear we're all eagerly awaiting the band's new songs, which will surely be better than the previous ones, because music is evolution, and evolution is Crom.
TEXT AND PHOTOS: ADUARDO DELGADO
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