1. Origin 
2. A new Empire's Birth 
3. Against the Gods 
4. The rising Sun 
5. Warmonger 
6. Escape the Union 
7. The Mark of Power 
8. Kolossus 
9. Ascendant

Thebon (Torbjörn Schei) - Vocals 

Obsidian C. (Arnt Ove Gronbech) - Guitars, Synth, Backing Vocals 
Wizziac  (Robin Isaksen) - Bass 
Vyl (Vegar Larsen) - Drums 

KEEP OF KALESSIN: "Kolossus"   keep of kalessin      

distributed in Switzerland by  Irascible distribution

review  by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo ___           

The copying and/or reproduction for any purpose whatsoever of the content of the present review, in whole or in part,  is strictly forbidden without giving credits.

Infernal and surreal.

Adventurous, devilish and refined: this is "Kolossus". Based on melodies as well as on disruptive rage, this album offers an attractive Melodic Black Metal integrated with Death and a certain measure of Thrash rhythms. Although technical and even explorative/atmospheric, the Norwegian Keep Of Kalessin doesn't forget that melodic lines and well structured patterns always pay ,even in the most ravenous and fast compositions. The epic touch is smoothed by the moderate use of the synths, on the contrary the guitars maintain the music in a typical extreme raw area rocketed by the mainly 1/16 bass drumming armored with dry speed -varied snare conformed to pace changes. 

The guitars are very expressive: they can be very harmonic and allround-melodious, acoustic, hammering, tremolos- bearing and bone-crasher. Moments inspired by old school rock are encapsulated in an evident modernity. The general feeling in Kolossus doesn't spit hate or menace alone, but also sorrow and anxiety thanks to songs like The Mark of Power. By the way, The Mark of Power whose sorrowful enraged melody remains slow constant and highly harmonic in the vocal and guitar lines but supported by a slow as well as very fast drumming alternated brings something familiar to me, something of déjà heard from other bands time ago, but this doesn't eclipse any fascination i feel for this song. 

The question for many may be: are Keep of Kalessin here better than in the previous album "Armada" or not. To me, this question  doesn't appear to be very tough, because any wind of change is welcome when the band reminds anyway coherent.  Without mentioning that Keep of Kalessin, however,  trample everything underfoot in the majestic song A new Empire's Birth introduced by the inherent intro Origin. Already in the very beginning of the album, we can see that the mixture among fierceness, melody and bitterness is the trademark. Still raging, or even more raging, is the Thrashened track Against the Gods, where the vocals too get a darker resolution, commanding the anthemic BM clusters. Brilliant is the rhythmic guitar bridge that acts also as final and outro of the song. The rising Sign maintains the level high where the uproar lets the melodic engagement and a great rhythmic free as well as interesting tonalities in the snare and in the rich soundscape, in which mourning violin and piano are also engraved. In Escape the Union i receive a certain Pink Floyd feeling in the melodic passages that share the scene with violent ravenous outbursts. Long chords with a touch of cosmic breath are mainly created by the guitars both rhythmic and lead whose solos and throbbing pulse are exemplar.
The intro of the title track Kolossus is "grandioso", followed by a very fast anthemic body animated by different vocal timbres and escapades in acoustic harmonies supported by a constant menacing background. Kolossus is the more sophisticated track, somehow exotic and rich in ingredients and technicality, a track in cinemascope, one long track (7:15) and the more ambitious, ...indeed maybe too ambitious, somehow loosing itself along the way. At this point, almost paradoxically, only considering music (and not the lyrics) the last song, Ascendant, nothing adds to what is  played and performed before. Anyway a very good song ( quite nice video) which brings al the characteristics of the album, but whose composition results to be less attractive. 

I think that in Kolossus, Keep of Kalessin have created a combination of Extreme metal and strange unusual, just softly stressed exoticism, above all in the semitone intervals. In few words, Kolossus is infernal, solid, pounding, yet surreal.

Rating: 9,3/10 

dalia di giacomo         25.09.2008

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