Keep of Kalessin - Armada
Candlelight Records USA - POSH070 - 2006
By Sam Brokenshaw
Reclaim was definitely one of the more impressive black metal CDs I heard in 2004. Other than being generally excellent, it showcased a far more experimental sentiment than is often present in the genre. It also blew away practically every other black metal release of recent times, including Mayhem's Chimera amongst others. Moving swiftly on into this year of our lord (Satan obviously...) two thousand and six, and Keep of Kalessin have managed to do two things with a new album, in the shape of Armada. Firstly they seem to have reigned in the rampant experimental passages that are so evident on Reclaim, secondly they've produced a concept album that adheres to a main theme much more closely. Frost and Attila are sadly departed, but their replacements are no slouches, the drums particularly being blisteringly fast and pretty damn technical. The songs are both anthemic and technically progressive, with the band often veering this way and that like a trolley with a dodgy wheel. "The Black Uncharted" has a nice little acoustic section to keep things interesting after its more brutal and speedy start.
It would be very hard, not to mention unjustified, to criticise this album on many points. It is a slight regression in terms of breaking new ground, but at the same time it's thoroughly bloody-minded in terms of sheer excellence. It has all the trimmings to keep an extreme metal fan satisfied, being fast, technical and brutal, but also advanced in melodic terms and thematically perfect. This is the perfect album for fantasising about naval warfare, or just plain listening to.
8.5/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Keep of Kalessin Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
Candlelight Records USA - POSH070 - 2006
By Sam Brokenshaw
Reclaim was definitely one of the more impressive black metal CDs I heard in 2004. Other than being generally excellent, it showcased a far more experimental sentiment than is often present in the genre. It also blew away practically every other black metal release of recent times, including Mayhem's Chimera amongst others. Moving swiftly on into this year of our lord (Satan obviously...) two thousand and six, and Keep of Kalessin have managed to do two things with a new album, in the shape of Armada. Firstly they seem to have reigned in the rampant experimental passages that are so evident on Reclaim, secondly they've produced a concept album that adheres to a main theme much more closely. Frost and Attila are sadly departed, but their replacements are no slouches, the drums particularly being blisteringly fast and pretty damn technical. The songs are both anthemic and technically progressive, with the band often veering this way and that like a trolley with a dodgy wheel. "The Black Uncharted" has a nice little acoustic section to keep things interesting after its more brutal and speedy start.
It would be very hard, not to mention unjustified, to criticise this album on many points. It is a slight regression in terms of breaking new ground, but at the same time it's thoroughly bloody-minded in terms of sheer excellence. It has all the trimmings to keep an extreme metal fan satisfied, being fast, technical and brutal, but also advanced in melodic terms and thematically perfect. This is the perfect album for fantasising about naval warfare, or just plain listening to.
8.5/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Keep of Kalessin Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
