Denmark's place in the metal scene was often overlooked over the years. Sweden made a name for itself with death metal, Norway did the same with black metal, and many fine symphonic metal bands emerged from Finland. One could argue that the Danes didn't perfect a particular style, but over the past ten or fifteen years, they've given the world some exemplary acts who can pull off all different sub-genres. Taking those first two examples into account, blackened death metal band Crocell, who must surely be considered veterans by this point, have unleashed their seventh full length album, "Swarm Of Insects," and one wonders whether this will have the sharp sting of a hornet, or the grating presence of a mosquito.

The album opens with "Sarcophagus," led by a lone guitar before the rest of the band joins in. In all honesty, that's usually the time when an album kicks into gear, but instead it's quite dull, though things do become better once the track picks up the pace. Aside from the very beginning of the song, it seems an odd choice to get the album underway, as it's one of the more banal offerings on "Swarm Of Insects." There's nothing wrong with it per se, but it does go in one ear and out of the other. It's followed by "Sculptor Of Nations," which turns up the black metal influence somewhat and includes a small segment where vocalist Asbjörn Steffensen is crying out in despair, which lends to the atmosphere pretty well.

From there though, it's quite an unremarkable journey. The title track is a more energetic affair, mixing black metal extremity with near grindcore levels of aggression, though it's a hard one to remember. It's also the only song underneath four minutes, while all the other tracks clock in at least five, often to their own detriment. "Labyrinthian Darkness" is a perfect example of a song that could have been trimmed down, as there's no need for it to be five and a half minutes at all, especially given that it ends with white noise, and that was one of the more enjoyable numbers. "Shredded Banners" was so bland that I forgot I was even listening to it while it was on, while "Traitor's Blood" also contains the off interesting segment, only for it to be in service of nothing.

In fairness, "Swarm Of Insects" does pick up towards the end, with "Wolfen Man" showing that it's the black metal side of things that Crocell does better, and will no doubt go down well live. Closing track, "Volcano" is the only song of the eight on display which made me think, "This is good," as it opens with a pretty tasty black metal riff that carries on into the verse. Once again though, it sticks around for too long and by the time it fades out, so has my interest. It's a decent metaphor for the record as a whole, as it does show promise in places and interesting decisions in others, and one can't fault the energy or effort that's been put into this release.

All in all though, this album isn't going to stick with many listeners. If you just want to scratch that blackened death metal itch, it's there if you want it, but even then it's not very satisfying. The style has its stars; Behemoth, Belphegor, Hate etc. but one questions how far the sub-genre can go when presented with mundane efforts such as this one. I don't want to be too harsh. The band clearly has talent and skill and "Swarm Of Insects" isn't a bad album, but sometimes being uninteresting is a greater offence, and this latest album from Crocell doesn't really leave anyone with much to talk about.