Some of the most memorable albums were created in the strangest fashion, The Doors' L.A. Woman comes to mind. Although not exactly a legendary album, the same goes for Crayven's debut EP Colosseum. Guitar and bass were recorded straight to the computer, vocals in the studio of a local radio station and the drums into a mic before going into the computer. Bassist Simon Kemme mixed it all up and Colosseum was the result.
Crayven is a band with balls. Following the age old "think big, act big, be big' theory. Screw doing countless of gigs; record an EP straight away. The current line-up hasn't even been together for a year. But, all things considered, they did a good job on Colosseum.
"Ivory White Peaks" opens the EP and throws Machteld Labots' voice straight into your ears. Which is quite pleasant, as her voice is soft and sweet, like a cool breeze on a nice Sunday morning... or something corny like that. She does an excellent job on vocals, although her pronunciation can be improved. Then again, English isn't Crayven's native tongue, so I won't give them shit about that. Musically "Ivory White Peaks" is tight. Not mind blowing, but good. "Colosseum", the title track is nothing special. Actually quite bland, but the solo is sweet. Lyrically it's the most awkward track and the band's obvious talent can't hide it. I quote, "So this is the Colosseum /It looks more like a mausoleum / It knows no pain, only game / Killing for sport, it's not sane."
"Man of the Land" is arguably the heaviest track of the album, but I find it nothing special. It's too repetitive and is the only track that suffers from the creative production of the EP. The recording is too soft in comparison to the other tracks. "The Beast" is my personal favorite; it's pure sex and reminds me of the Queens of the Stone Age's "No One Knows." They might not agree with it, but I don't care. It just does. Stop whining, "The Beast" is just awesome. "Freedom", closing the EP, is an instrumental and a nice way to end the EP but it sounds unfinished and could have been much more.
If you made it this far, you probably wonder what my verdict is. Before that I want to point out that this EP can only be bought through the band's website and (I think, it's what the site says) only for E.U. countries.
Colosseum is far from perfect and has some major flaws, but hints at a rough diamond lurking underneath. If Crayven continues to develop themselves, then I'm certain this EP will be worth a lot of money in fifteen years time, which would be awesome, as I'd be able to score some big bucks.
