Before the Animals Know You’re Dead is the second full-length album from veteran producer Krohme.

By Graeme Smith

It’s not the first of his work we’ve featured on these pages. In 2023, I ran the rule over The Time, The Tide by Coventry shoegazers Blind Orbits. Krohme produced that record, and provided an extended remix of the track Day of the Dead. So, what’s Krohme’s own sound like?

The answer is that’s it’s less shoegaze and more boom-bap. It’s dark, experimental, moody, atmospheric. Before the Animals Know You’re Dead tells a story, an apocalyptic type one brought to vivid life in the early spoken word vocals of its title track.

Featuring on the album are some of the biggest names of the underground hip-hop scene – Kurupt, Bizzy Bones, Young Buck, Sage Francis to name a few. It’s easy to see why they would be attracted to the project. Krohme is really flexing his musical muscles on it, and giving us something entirely original.

Mustard Gas proves a hard-hitting early highlight. As does the sci-fi-gospel edge of LiveFromTheBasement. Womb2TheGrave combines a severe instrumental with soulful vocals. Comrades fizzes with some quickfire verses. Lambs vs Lions is strikingly dark and macabre before Finis Dierum closes the album as it started, and leaves us with plenty to think about.

Released on Krohme’s nonprofit label, Calm Bomb Collective, 100% of the album’s profits will directly fund programs supporting the Disabled, Autistic, and Neurodivergent communities.

Before the Animals Know You’re Dead is set for release 25 April 2025. You can pre-order it as a digital album, on CD or 12″ vinyl via Bandcamp.