KEEP OF KALESSIN – Epistemology

To most people in Norway, Keep of Kalessin is probably known for being "that metal band who entered Melodi Grand Prix (Norwegian edition of ESC)", but to actual fans of the band, they’re much more than that. Keep of Kalessin has always been one of the Norwegian metal bands that has focused on making music of high quality. With Obsidian C. in the drivers seat, Keep of Kalessin has proven themselves to be a very technical band with alot to offer.

One of the things that is notable about the album is the changed lineup. In the aftermath of the drama with the band and their (now former) vocalist, Thebon, the band has now recorded the album with Obsidian C. doing the vocals, and to be honest, he does a more than decent job! The vocals have a cool rusty feel to them, and they compliment the epic music in a very special way.

Epistemology is on the same track as the past couple of albums, meaning that Keep of Kalessin is doing the whole "epic extreme metal" thing, which isn’t a bad thing if you like that kind of music. However it seems like they have gotten a little bit softer with each album, and now there are alot of clean vocal parts along with the beforementioned rusty sounding vocals. It does add to the whole "epic lord of the rings"-feeling, so if that is what you’re looking for, then this is definetly going to fit your desires.

If there is one main problem with the album (because it’s not a perfect album), it would be that the drumming gets very anonymous. Seeing as they have a very competent drummer, this shouldn’t be the case. The only memorable drum track on the album is on Necrpolis. However it is a very cool song – mostly BECAUSE of the drumming.

While indeed a good and epic album, it was not the most memorable work that Keep of Kalessin ever did. While it is arguably better than their last album, it wasn’t as memorable as "Armada". Alot of the songs were quite anonymous, but the ones that do stand out are very amazing. Important to note that the album is far from bad, but if Keep of Kalessin wants to progress they would need to work a bit more with their more anonymous parts.

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