A few months ago, several friends and I went to see Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh, PA. Needless to say the show put on by both Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth was flawlessly filled with Satanic rituals, anti-Christian rants, blood spewing, and Nergal of Behemoth ripping up a bible. Before all of that though, there was a smaller band that none of us had heard of that opened for these larger black metal acts. We were all blown away by the sheer intensity that this band displayed, as well as the fact that the bass drums were so incredibly loud it was difficult to breathe properly. This band is known as Keep of Kalessin.Keep of Kalessin recently released their 4th album, Kolossus, which I have to admit is a damn fine representation of untraditional black metal. It's fast, brutal, full of fury, and straight to the point. Unlike more traditional Norwegian black metal acts like Darkthrone and Mayhem, that feature high pitched screams, hyper-speed drumming, and very raw and grisly guitar work, Keep of Kalessin, add deeper guttural growls, more experimental drums, and some aspects of symphonic black metal and thrash to the mix. These additions make Kolossus an album full of variety and a lot of fun to listen to. With that said, it is safe to say that Keep of Kalessin may very well be considered a more progressive black metal band than anything else, kind of like Enslaved.
"Warmonger" is a very good example of the band experimenting with different types of extreme metal because the song promotes the usage of groove-oriented drumming, guitar soloing, much deeper vocals and that lyrical rawness that every black metal fan adores: deep hatred for the Christian religion. Not to exclude the epitome of machine gun double-bass drumming, blast beats, and pure, unbridled speed, but I think that Keep of Kalessin enjoys a bigger variety of playing styles than just those. "The Rising Sign" is another track that stands out because it features a long section of peaceful symphonic sounding instruments that bring everything to a calm state before hurtling the listener back into the blood-soaked war between corpse-painted demons and Christian angels.
Whether you're a black metal fan or not, this album is definitely worth checking out just for the
sake of hearing something different and full of variation. Traditional Norwegian black metal is relentlessly evil and a great inspiration to many, but seeing a black metal band willing to branch out a little is definitely something to look out for.Focus Tracks:
Kolossus, The Mark of Power, Warmonger, Against the Gods, A New Empire's Birth
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