CD review KEEP OF KALESSIN "Epistemology"

(8/10) It took band founder Obsidian Claw five years to release the successor of “Reptilian”. Trondheim based Keep Of Kalessin used quite some time to work on the new album “Epistemology” that will be released mid February. The longplayer comes with seven songs an intro. Since most of the tracks are pretty long the album gives you a lot of bombastic metal.

The main difference to the predecessor is the fact that Obsidian Claw took over the role as singer as well, since former vocalist Thebon left the band. And he does a good job behind the mic. I like the moments when his voice gets rougher and comes closer to growls. But let’s start from the beginning.

The first third of the album isn't the best – at least for me. After an intro called "Cosmic revelation", which is nice to listen to, the first real song starts. It's a high speed track with very melodic vocals. What I don't like is the monotonous drum beat in the song. Vyl and Wizziac play very tight which is definitely a benefit, but the entire song doesn’t really stick. The more silent middle section brings some relief into the track, but there are better ones to come. Unfortunately also "Dark divine" follows the same pattern as the opener before with "The grand design" a first highlight crawls into your ears. It felt to me like Keep Of Kalessin released the break. The song is a mean black metal track with growl-like vocals. It shows the entire potential of the band by combining black metal elements with death metal growls and a great guitar work. The sweet choirs from the opener disappeared and the some opens the gate to a black infinity. The next track is called "Necropolis" - a hypnotic evil song with a cool riff. The again more melodic vocals make the coomplex song easier to approach and the oriental guitar lines adds something extra to the cool tune. It's one of the best ones on the album.

Via the blasting four minutes long "Universal core" you're guided to "introspection". The song starts with sphereful keyboards which find its end in a mighty riff. The result is a well-crafted song that is with four minutes pretty much down to the point, eventhough bombstic choirs are used. 

And last but not least the ten minutes long title track that marks the end of "Epistemology". Compared to the first two songs this track is more entertaining and has with the instrumental ending a bombastic metal approach that I like a lot. The song can be seen as a summary of all you get on “Epistemology”.

After five years we can finally say that Keep Of Kasselin is back with an album that is, except the first two songs, damn cool. The band created a complex and multilayered sound that is on the other hand sometimes also build on hypnotic monotony. To bridge this gap by still keeping the totality in focus is somthing Keep Of Kasselin manages perfectly.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Cosmic revelation
2. The spiritual relief
3. Dark divinity
4. The grand design
5. Necropolis
6. Universal core
7. Introspection
8. Epistemology

Label: Indie Recording

Genre: Black Metal