It took a really long time for me to finally release “The Midnight Sun Chronicles” album. I had several setbacks and hard drive crashes that it almost felt like the project was cursed. Not only that, these days with digital recording there are just so many options for how you record, mix and master a track that it is very easy to second guess yourself and get lost in a maze of plug-ins. After I finally got the album out, I promised myself I wouldn't go back and tinker with the mix or mastering of the songs and just move on to the next project.
However in the years since I released the album, I noticed Krell has relatively low streaming numbers compared to just about every other song on the album. I think it is a solid enough song and there must be a reason for the low numbers. The song starts with a pretty long, weird introduction of screams and other sounds before it really gets going into the music. My guess as to why it has low listens is that weird intro. Many listeners probably hear that and just skip on to the next song. Alas, in the days of streaming no one takes the time to listen to an album anymore.
As an experiment I cut the intro and while I was at it I did a few minor mastering tweaks. I think the result is pretty good and I'm now releasing Krell (2026 remaster) as a stand alone single. Hopefully more people will take the time to listen to it. If you like the weird intro the album version is still out there and available to stream or buy!
Rock On!!!!
-Steven