Melodic Black Metal. How many ways can you do that without turning into shoegaze, which—unless you’re one of very few bands (e.g. Katatonia)—is just indie rock? Honestly, not very many ways. On their new album Epistemology, Norway’s Keep of Kalessin isn’t attempting to break that mold, but they are doing something that can, at times, be enjoyable.
The album opens with thunder, wind and rain on a loop before a string symphony begins a diminished and sorrowful tune that seamlessly flows into the next track, “The Spiritual Relief.” The typical drop includes rolling double-bass underneath that same string symphony. The vocals are quite surprising—rather than opening with screams of torture, Keep of Kalessin chooses to show their vocal talent with layered voices revealing simple, tried-and-true harmonies. Unfortunately not much happens until the eight minute mark when the intensity once again picks up in a storming climax. All-in-all, the song is far too long.
While overall size might not matter, length does and excessive length is symptomatic of most of the tracks on Epistemology. Most of the tracks are somewhere between seven and eight minutes long. That’s not always a bad thing, but it is very difficult to pull off without becoming boring, or at least seriously repetitive. (Unfortunately, Keep of Kalessin covers both.) Tracks like “Dark Divinity” and “Grand Design” vary in their approach of pace, grittiness and overall volume but still suffer from sounding terribly one-note. “Universal Core” is an example of the band doing something successful and, of course, the track clocks in at under four minutes. In that time, it utilizes blasting double bass and vicious vocals all while maintaining a focused and edited approach. There are symphonic touches, and clean vocals appear throughout—but unlike some of its counterparts that are twice as long, this one proves its point and ends before becoming boring.
Adding to that boredom is the production quality on Epistemology—which is almost like something you’d expect out of a band playing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun. The end mix is flat and shiny, like a certain Canadian hard rock band we all know and love hate, and the compression on the guitars is nearly insufferable. When the drums fly off on a double bass blast the guitars are completely lost because of such intense compression. The only thing standing out from the mix is the vocals which are heavily layered, effected and bland.
With more than 18 years under their belts, Keep of Kalessin are not a young band. But like many bands that continue to put out albums in their same style without progressing or changing (e.g. Incantation, Marduk) they suffer the same fate: repetitive boredom.
-Manny-O-War
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