CoC : KorovaKill - WaterHells : Review

KorovaKill - _WaterHells_
(Red Stream, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (4 out of 10)

Trying to cope with the ebb and flow of this Austrian outfit was like shoveling shit against the tide. Not always a bad thing saying that one cannot easily affix a label to a band immediately, but for KorovaKill it is a mixed bag. The music is often incredible: meticulously played and extremely interesting for the black metal the band claims they belong to. The guitars are gritty, with enough choppy texture to fishnet the interest of even discriminating aficionados. "Drown Symphony", toward the beginning of _WaterHells_, employs many devices to snare intrigue. Well used female vocals (on this track) complement the rough and choppy guitar riff and the deeper vocals lull you in like a lighted port in the storm. My favorite track immediately follows "Drown Symphony": it is entitled "Into the Waterwhils". The song is heavy, somber, but with a quicker tempo. The gruff vocals wash against the sand of your perception with grace witnessed only in the talents of this planet's aquatic inhabitants. Some less than complementary points I would raise might include doing away with the female vocals utilized hit-and-miss on _WaterHells_. Infrequently used, KorovaKill could have drowned the listener in washes of feminine ambience, but I feel _WaterHells_ is overkill in this area. The male vocals stretch from clean to husky to strep-throat a la King Diamond on _Them_. I would struggle to call this effort black metal. Dive into this submersible of an effort if you dare. Personally, I'd stay high and dry and look into something that would provide me with less of a sinking feeling.

(article published 13/5/2001)