Keep Of Kalessin – Reptilian (2010)

After releasing amazing albums like “Armada” and “Kolossus”, we have Keep Of Kalessin’s latest offering with “Reptilian”. And let us tell you that the band did not failed to deliver another brilliant Black Metal assault that will make all the Black Metal posers weep in despair. Keep Of Kalessin is back with a very brutal release that will surely be considered one of the top Black Metal albums of 2010.

With it’s unique riffing style (for Black Metal), this band revamped the genre back in 2006 with “Armada” and continues to keep pushing the boundaries of Black Metal to the extreme. “Reptilian” opens up with a very epic song “Dragon Iconography” and it’s immediately evident that the band has been taking more influences of old-school Trash/Heavy Metal and NWOBHM bands for their riffing assaults.

Paired with the excellent riffing style, we have some very intricate keyboard melodies that highlight the band’s music brilliantly and never make it sound like a BM re-interpretation of Starwars (like Dimmu Borgir sounds). We greatly enjoy how Obsidian Claw writes song structures that allow these two elements to merge seamlessly. The band’s BM style is very different to anything on the scene and with “Reptilian” the abdn is polishing the few (and we mean very few) rough edges the band’s sound had with “Armada” and “Kolossus”.

We like to mention that the drumming is restless as always and very brutal in nature. Helped by a pristine production, it sounds just right never getting in the way of the riffing and the vocals. The vocals are the typical Thebon screams, whispers, etc., and the backing vocals provide a nice boost (like on “The Awakening”).

Some people might argue that “Reptilian” is not as innovative or good than “Kolossus”, but we beg to differ. The band is fine tuning their sound and with this release they have reached almost perfection, while “Reptilian” is not a huge leap like “Armada” or “Kolossus” where, it is still a very masterful Black Metal release, we particularly like the use of plenty of Trash/Heavy Metal inspired riffs.

In genera, “Reptilian” is another fine release from the might Keep Of Kalessin. With an upcoming tour in fall 2010 on American soil, we are sure they will establish themselves as a premiere Black Metal band in the USA, just as they have done in Europe during the last few years. So go out and get this release and start enjoying some good Black Metal.

Release: June 8th, 2010

Country: Norway