{"id":661527,"date":"2026-06-27T18:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/661527\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T18:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T18:16:09","slug":"crocell-swarm-of-insects-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/661527\/","title":{"rendered":"Crocell – Swarm of Insects Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Spawned in 2007, Danish quintet Crocell started life as a humble, but prolifically productive melodic death metal troupe, churning out five LPs in a relatively brief decade. Six years passed between their fifth and sixth outings, but only two years span the difference between that and the new Swarm of Insects, distributed by Emanzipation Records. Throughout all of that history, Crocell have gotten progressively more blackened in their riff-centered, deathly dealings, but otherwise remained remarkably stable both in sound and lineup. This begs a question of curiosity: What six-legged horrors await me here?<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s still true that Crocell haven\u2019t made great shifts in sound or style over the last few records, Swarm of Insects is a more epic and sprawling affair than, say, the relentlessly aggressive Relics. This puts it more in line with black-metal forward predecessor Of Frost, Of Flame, Of Flesh, which saw Crocell leaning more heavily into sweeping songwriting arcs highly reminiscent of Limbo<\/a>-era Gaerea by way of Sulphur Aeon<\/a>, with a twist of Emperor. That said, some of the Dormant Ordeal<\/a>-but-slower death of Relics returns on Swarm. This reprisal of crushing heft, in turn, affords Swarm a more threatening nature without becoming wholly oppressive or undoing its grand storytelling voice.<\/p>\n

Swarm Of Insects by Crocell<\/a><\/p>\n

If that description gives you pause or causes concern that Crocell lost their edge, one spin of the title track should provide ample reassurance. Its scorching tremolo-forward riffs and spectacular energy bring heat to the blood and buzz to the saw. \u201cTraitor\u2019s Blood,\u201d \u201cShredded Banners,\u201d and \u201cWolfen Man\u201d double down on that attack, and the extra 90 seconds Crocell invested into what used to be their standard mid-three-mid-four-minute template suits them well. Using that extra time to fortify serrated riffs built to shred and terrify with ominous bridges soaked in shadow and mist brought a new vocabulary to Crocell\u2019s musical lexicon. Not entirely unexpected from a band of this advanced experience, but also not entirely dissimilar to the welcome progression of songwriting sophistication that Sulphur Aeon displayed across their discography, Crocell\u2019s expansion of scope allows the five-plus minutes of \u201cLabyrinthian Tunnels\u201d and even the somewhat weaker \u201cVolcano\u201d to feel justified and satisfying.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As much as Crocell excel in Swarm of Insects\u2019 more patient songwriting, so too do they leave behind some of the more exciting characteristics of past efforts. Always the show-stealer, undercelebrated drummer Andreas Posselt is more restrained here across the board, and I miss the jaw-dropping acrobatics and scalpel-sharp accuracy of his tom-and-cymbal play displayed on past efforts. His performance is still enviable, of course. However, opener \u201cSarcophagus\u201d is somewhat forgettable in relation to Swarm\u2019s later offerings, in part due to its more reserved writing and lack of that percussive showmanship that I look for from Crocell. Concurrently, Tommy Christensen and Mads Gath traded some of their riff quota for great, towering arcs of trem-picked melodies and protracted chord work. This allows big moments from \u201cSculptor of Nations\u201d and \u201cWolfen Man\u201d to hit with tectonic impact\u2014and also serves as a vehicle to bring audibility to Onkel Kusse\u2019s oft-buried bass burble\u2014but may alienate listeners who hoped for another nonstop barnstormer from these Danes. Asbj\u00f6rn Steffensen, on the other hand, strikes a great balance between deathly roars, hoarse rasps, and pained chants that feel impassioned without losing control entirely. His technique here might be cribbed directly from the tomes of Sulphur Aeon, resulting in a most minor case of identity theft, but it\u2019s a great technique for this sound regardless.<\/p>\n

41 minutes pass, the locusts that once blinded my vision now only dot the horizon and straggle before my feet. Wings gently flutter on either side of my ears, and I\u2019m left standing aghast at what just transpired. Crocell, as I anticipated, brought enough heat to spike my adrenaline with concerning ease. This Swarm of Insects may not pose as mortal a danger as previous attacks, but it nonetheless offered its own kind of excitement. In another world, I might be thankful that this wave was easier to weather. But I can\u2019t deny that I miss the intensity and the terror of experiences past. I won\u2019t begrudge Crocell for this more \u201cpleasant\u201d plague, as it was a fine plague all the same. I just hope, one day soon, to fear for my life again.<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: Emanzipation Records<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Official<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spawned in 2007, Danish quintet Crocell started life as a humble, but prolifically productive melodic death metal troupe,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[47816,19439,28214,54246,221830,221831,9986,108183,221832,30461,96,129462,191545,40988,128,263,129,86706,221833,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-661527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-47816","tag-3-5","tag-black-metal","tag-blackened-death-metal","tag-crocell","tag-danish-metal-metal","tag-death-metal","tag-dormant-ordeal","tag-emanzipation-records","tag-emperor","tag-entertainment","tag-gaerea","tag-may26","tag-melodic-death-metal","tag-music","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-sulphur-aeon","tag-swarm-of-insects","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}