CoC : Keep of Kalessin - Through Times of War : Review

Keep of Kalessin - _Through Times of War_
(Avantgarde, 1998)
by: Drew Snow (7 out of 10)

Although the name bears no meaning to me (I can guess), Keep of Kalessin definitely surprised me with their brand of harsh black metal, rather similar to a combination of Setherial (minus the epic length songs) and Marduk, coupled with a noticeable dose of distinct heaviness rarely seen in black metal. Most of the time kicking away in typical black metal speeds, Keep of Kalessin offer a very effective foray into the now much less densely populated area of fast, strident blackness. Tossing in some sporadic, "whirry" keyboards here and there, the band forges a high quality forty-seven minute opus, but one which really has no unique characteristics or special features to separate it from all the rest out there. That said, _Through Times of War_ is good, but there are plenty of albums out there just like it, or better.

(article published 10/3/1998)

ALBUMS
9/1/2008	J Smit	9	Keep of Kalessin - Kolossus
5/24/2006	J Montague	8.5	Keep of Kalessin - Armada

GIGS
3/30/2009	Z Zf	Amon Amarth / Obituary / Legion of the Damned / Keep of Kalessin	An Awesome But Imperfect Monday Outing...