Nuclear Blast Records was well represented as the Death By Decibels Tour made a stop in Raleigh, NC…
On October 5, 2008, Kataklysm lead the Death By Decibels Tour in a hellacious attack on the non-Metal scene in Raleigh, NC! The supporting group of bands involved in this brutal show was constructed of local opener Edward Teach, Norway’s own Keep of Kalessin, Dying Fetus, and Eluveitie from Switzerland. Altogether, these five bands put on a great show!
The first band to play was Edward Teach from Chapel Hill, NC. Although they are not directly connected to the Death By Decibels Tour (except for this show), they were certainly the right band to kick off the show. Even though I’m not a follower of the Death metal genre, I did enjoy a good part of this band’s set. One thing I liked was their rhythm that was similar to that of the great Death/Viking metal band Amon Amarth. The, almost, overuse of blast beats did throw me off a bit, but other than that, Edward Teach played a great sounding set.
The next band to hit the stage was (as Obsidian Claw refers to them) Epic Extreme metal band Keep of Kalessin. I was stoked to finally witness the power that is Keep of Kalessin live, and I was certainly not disappointed! With a set containing material from, but not limited to, their albums Armada and their newest release Kolossus, these four guys showed why their popularity is growing and that their current line-up is solid. Overall, they played an awesome set and I enjoyed their great stage presence.
Next to hit the stage was the band I was the most excited to see live. This band, of course, is the eight piece Folk metal Eluveitie. To be honest, this was my favorite band to see during the entire show because of the great stage presence between all eight members of the band and I love the mix of Traditional Celtic Folk music and a more modern style of Metal that Eluveitie presents. Also, this was the first time I’ve ever seen someone hairspin while playing a hurdygurdy much less play one in general! Overall, this band was great to see live and and I was pleased with my overall experience with them personally and watching their liver performance.
Playing fourth was the most brutal band of the night, Dying Fetus. With a preceding reputation for pure brutality in their music, this three piece proceeded to blow me away with their set. Just as with Edward Teach, I’m not a big fan of their style and I’m certainly not familiar with their material, but I would recommend their live show to anyone who is. They really did put on a good show and they keep my hope for successful power trios alive!
The final band to give a proverbial punch to the face to all that is not Metal was Canada’s own Kataklysm! I must admit that I’m not as familiar with Kataklysm’s material as I probably should be, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying my second time seeing them live. These four guys really do put on a great show and they’re definitely a cool group of guys to hang out with and talk to. I do believe that the most of their set was from their newest album Prevail, but I can’t confirm that the entire was. Either way, they played a great show and were definitely the right band to headline this excellent tour!
Overall, I had yet another great night of Metal in Raleigh and I definitely can’t wait for the next one! To anyone who are fans of any of these bands from this tour, if you haven’t seen them live, do it! It will be well worth your time, energy, and money!
Keep of Kalessin
Obsidian Claw – Guitar
1. Who are some of you guitar influences? Who are some influences overall for the band’s sound?
It’s really hard to pinpoint anything because I’m influenced by so many different things, but when it comes to guitarists I would say that I’ve been influenced by Slash, Mark Knopfler, James Hetfield, Zakk Wylde, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray since I started playing guitar.
The band is inspired by much of the same like Guns ‘n’ Roses, Metallica, and Iron Maiden and the early Black metal bands to movies and computer games. And anything fantasy or sci-fi.
2. Where does the name Keep of Kalessin come from?
It’s taken from a book series about Earthsea written by Ursula Le Guin. Where Kalessin is the eldest and most powerful dragon.
3. How do you feel about the current, full-time line-up for KoK?
It’s great! Finally, we have a solid and powerful line-up. I’ve been looking for this kinda line-up for many years and it’s very satisfying to finally have people that are focused and hard working and also have amazing individual skills. I think this is one of the best line-ups from Norway these days when it comes to musical skills.
4. How was your experience with the short lived line-up including Frost (Satyricon) and Attila Csihar (MAYHEM)?
At the time it was great and it was a very unique atmosphere at that time. However, I also see that it was necessary to get new people in the band that was 100% dedicated to Keep Of Kalessin. But I definitely have great memories from recording the EP.
5. What feelings/attitude went into writing Kolossus?
We wanted to create an album that was even more epic and melodic than Armada and I think that it worked out pretty well. The album has a lot more variation as well and many different moods that the listener goes through. I think the album as a whole feels much more like a journey than Armada and that was also the intention. It’s also more organic sounding which I think is great. It gives the album more atmosphere and a unique feeling.
6. With Kolossus being KoK’s fourth full length album, what are you thoughts on the final product for the album and the success of the band overall?
I think the final product was very much as I intended and I’m very happy with that. When you do an album, there is always some things that are not as good as you hoped for, but also stuff that is even better than you imagined before you started recording the album.
It’s also great to finally see some recognition for this band that I’ve been working with for such a long time now. I always knew we had potential, but we weren’t able to really nail it before Armada and that album really did a lot for us. But I still think we have a long way to go and we also have a lot more potential on recording some really unique Metal, so it will be interesting to see how far we can get.
7. Do you think you had an advantage recording the album in your own studio instead of an outside studio?
It’s both pro’s and con’s when you record in your own studio. It’s a good thing that you have enough time to experiment with different things, but it can also be hard to keep the spirit up for 3-4 months in the studio. Suddenly you start to question the material and think everything sounds like sh*t and the next day you think it sounds awesome again. Hehe. You kinda lose track of where you are in the process until you suddenly start seeing the light in the end of the tunnel.
If you record in another studio it’s easy just to record your instrument and be finished with it to let the producer do his work. I think that can be a relief sometimes, but I also like being a part of the whole process from start to finish.
8. How would you compare Kolossus to past albums and EPs?
I think it’s a bigger album. What I mean by that is that it’s the kind of album you should listen to from start to finish and really embrace it as a varied musical journey. It’s not supposed to be ultra dark or the most brutal thing out there. It’s supposed to take you to bright moments and dark moments. I think a lot of the Black metal fans don’t realize this. I wouldn’t call Kolossus Black metal anyway so it really doesn’t matter, but it’s definitely not your traditional underground album. It’s something totally different and there’s not a band on this globe that sounds like it. And that’s the most important thing to me. It’s also an album that needs time, but when you give it time it will grow like a tumor that you won’t get rid of.
9. What are your thoughts on the rest of the Black metal scene (including bands such as Satyricon, Behemoth, and Dimmu Borgir)?
I think there are some good bands and a lot of bad ones. The biggest ones are usually the best ones as well, but I think the whole Black metal scene has a sickness in the underground. Wannabe true people that don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. Black metal is about individualism and doing your own thing, not following the rules or norms of a scene!
10. What does the future hold for Keep of Kalessin?
A lot of touring and we’ll also be back in America in Oct/Nov and will also have a new album out in 2009! So it’s gonna be busy, busy.
Keep of Kalessin – Kolossus
Nuclear Blast Records
(4/5)
Keep of Kalessin has struck again from the land of Black metal! Coming forth from Norway with their fourth full length album entitled Kolossus, KoK is continuing to show the world why Norway is known as the land of Black metal. Incorporating some more Progressive and Electronic elements into their sound, KoK has successfully put out an album that helps show the world that not EVERY Black metal band sounds the same. One prominent element that separates this band from other is the vocal style of Thebon. Rather than using a more high pitched scream most of the time, he uses more of a yelling technique. Another aspect of KoK I like IS the Progressive features they implement. With the collaboration of the Black metal style and Progressive music style utilized by Obsidian Claw (guitars and synth), Wizziac (bass), and Vyl (drums) and Thebon’s vicious vocals, all 9 tracks on Kolossus seem to really pack a punch. On top of that, they seem to flow through time effortlessly, creating a great album to listen to. Honestly, with the way they fit so well together, I really can’t find a favorite track. Each one seems to just be an extension of what has come before it. As far as the overall album goes, I definitely recommend Kolossus to any Black metal fans and anyone looking to get into Black metal!
