Epic, anthemic, amazing
eternal now | mankato | 06/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The brilliance of Keep of Kalessin is not their brutal riffing, blast beats, or their lyrics; at least not to me. I think this band is brilliant because not only can they play a variety of styles, but they can play them well! Whether it be black metal, death metal, blackened thrash or folk inspired acoustic segments with clean sung vocals, Keep of Kalessin perform like professionals of the highest caliber.
'Armada' is an epic album, with epic lyrics put to epic music. Though classified as black metal the music is much too grand to be constrained by one genre alone. 'Armada' is not one continuous blast beat induced, tremolo riffing, raspy vocals affair; rather its one staggering album that takes you on a journey through various emotions, war-like anthems, acoustic serenity, and back again. Make no mistake however, Keep of Kalessin are no Opeth clone, the acoustic parts are more folk-y, and kept to a minimum, but when they appear they are glorious and well executed. The vocals are predominantly blackened death metal, akin to Dimmu Borgir-esque, but there are also some rare moments of raspy vocals, though they are presented in a growl-like fashion. The guitars change swiftly from tremolo picking to death metal passages to black n roll like pieces; yet always remaining engaging and very technical. These guys are no mere third rate black metal band; their playing is both precise and highly technical. Guitar solos appear often throughout the album, and they are always necessary and never meandering. The bass guitar, though still muffled at times seems to shine during breakdowns and slower parts, with some pretty impressive bass lines. The drums are as you'd expect: fast, technical, amazing. The ultimate brilliance of Keep of Kalessin is that they never sacrifice melody for sheer brutality or an overly technical approach, and this is what makes them so viable and enjoyable.
No matter how technical and amazing a band is, it would all be for naught if the production wasn't up to snuff, which thankfully it is. Crystal clean, with each instrument clearly audible; even the vocals. Everything is mixed to its proper proportion, giving the album a true epic feel.
Highly recommended."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1