Crystal Castles con (III) ha decidido dar seguimiento a un sonido similar a (II), pero en esta ocasión la banda prefirió sonar más analógico, grabando el álbum en cinta y reduciendo el uso de sintetizadores, logrando una construcción más Lo-fi que evidencia que hay una clara influencia del Witch House.

El resultado es un trabajo lleno de texturas que dan la sensación de estar en una pel una película de terror y al mismo tiempo de escuchar una canción de cuna. ¨Plague", primer track del álbum remite inmediatamente a sonidos rave de los años 90 y Witch House, Alice Glass combina gritos con cantos melódicos (como una fusión entre Baptism y Celestica).

"Kerosene" es una canción sencilla de ritmo constante que funciona bastante bien, sigue un una trama oscura con tintes caóticos controlados. "Wrath of God" lleva el mismo enfoque que "Plague", pero en esta ocasión hay una yuxtaposición entre una dulce melodía de brillos hipnóticos y un detonador de gritos, sofocación y desesperación.

"Affection" consigue un sonido más Dreampop que recuerda la dulce voz de Alice Glass, por otro lado "Pale Flesh" hace una jugada muy al estilo "Empathy". "Sad Eyes" ubicado en medio del álbum es un track Witchpop que incita inmediatamente a bailar, su sonido es como un "Celestica" más analógico. "Insulin" podría ser un hermano más de canciones anteriores como "Doe Deer","Insectica" o"Mother Know Best".

"Transgender" compone un sonido dinámico que da continuidad al álbum. "Violent Youth" remite a sonidos anteriores de Crystal Castles pero sin usar 8-bit, una canción desafortunada. "Telepath" parece estar lleno de instrumentos descompuestosque logran una textura ideal que se acompaña de salpicadas de la voz de Alice. "Mercenary" nos prepara para un final, es perfecta para ir cerrando el álbum, al fondo se escucha la tonada de "Sad Eyes" pero en reversa.

Y finalmente "Child I Will Hurt You", el descenlace tradicional melancólico de 5 palabras que contrapone por completo a "Plague", pues ésta es dulce, sosegada, triste y distante. El sonido de (III) es menos pegajoso que sus álbumes anteriores, pero gusta más.… Expand

Crystal Castles have followed up their acclaimed and beautiful yet brutal second album with a raw, dark, depressing, and honest collection of material that succeeds in showing fantastic maturation and growth. Less of a social experience than their previous release, the stripped down production almost hints at a desire to alienate insincere "fans". This is not a feel-good or very danceable album. This is experimental dance music for the thinking person fed up with the current political climate and its blatantly over the top disrespect for and objectivation of women. This is "punk" music at its absolute finest. (III) should disappoint nobody, except of course for the completely unaware Tumblr-obsessed Tweens who listen to bands solely because of their hair colors and visual blogability (don't blame the band, that kind of thing is inevitable). This album is so aesthetically pleasing that if you care about the kind of social issues the band have expressed so much concern with as of late, diving into this deep world of gloom will prove to be an experience greater than I & II. Highlights: Plague, Kerosene, Wrath of God, Affection, Sad Eyes, Violent Youth, Child I Will Hurt You (honestly the whole album).… Expand

Crystal Castles both benefit and suffer from being loved so much by their audience. They have been cherished like a first-born and, in many cases, that adoration insists that, to keep things perfect, nothing must change. Ever. But (III) is change. It is the sound of a journey, of growing, and wanting to tell people what you've seen. Of course, not everyone wants to grow up just yet, and for them the first two albums are still there; forever unaltered. For those who want to go somewhere this album is a wonderful experience. Experimentation, gloom and (yet) energy pour out. Synapses get giddy as it becomes clear the trip will not be predictable. But it will be playful and inspiring. This is a great record, and it puts them amongst a handful of artists who refuse to buy into the idea that challenging their audience is a risk to their 'business', and that being entertaining while you do that isn't in any way a sellout. In truth, you need both to make a lasting impact. So, three for three … Expand

As a long time fan of CC, I'd say that this album is ultimately satisfying. The variety of the songs is refreshing, and some are especially wonderful. The only downfall is that none of the songs are spectacular, like was evident in previous works (Alice Practice, Not In Love, etc). Standouts are: Plague, Insulin, Affection, Violent Youth and Telepath.

I've been a Crystal Castles fan for about a half a year already. I adored their debut immensely upon firs listen, and couldn't stop listening to it from then on. Then I gave their sophomore album a listen and was almost as blown away as I was about their first one. Both electro masterpieces in my opinion. (III) was my most anticipated this year. My expectations were out of the roof. Maybe that wasn't the best idea. Crystal Castles III is really unlike their first two LP's. They went for a much darker approach. I was fascinated the first few listens, but then it really dawned on me that it sounded a little too plain on some tracks. Other tracks are great (Wrath Of God, Plague, Pale Flesh) but a few others seemed to really obscure Alice Glass's vocals (as if they weren't already slaughtered from the glitchy reverb). All In All, I'm glad Crystal Castles aren't riding the one-trick pony bandwagon and switching up their sound, I just had my expectations way too high, thinking I was gonna hear a masterpiece. But instead I heard a solid electro record that could've been a lot better. B-… Expand