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| #FOR FANS OF: Epic Black |
The Greek scene is undoubtedly one of the most prolific one, not only in quantity but especially in the quality. The national scene goes way further from the most famous bands like Rotting Christ or Septic Flesh, just to mention the most obvious ones, where you can find excellent bands, both new and old ones. If we focus on between the veterans who deserve more attention, the Athens based Kawir will be one of those for sure. This project was founded back in 1993 by Therthonax with the support of Stefan Necroabyssious and Eskarth the Dark One, who recorded their first track. Nevertheless, this project´s true leader has been always Therthonax, he is the only original member who has remained from the inception of the band to these days. As expected, Kawir’s line-up has suffered of many changes during its existence. The current line-up consists of five members and it has been quite stable during the last five years. Anyway, these numerous changes haven´t been a definitive impediment for this project to release seven albums, some splits and its newest opus, entitled ‘Adastreia’, or in its Greek spelling, ‘Αδράστεια’.
Kawir plays a quite epic and barbaric form of pagan black metal. The band´s career is full of excellent albums and ‘Adastreia’ is another fine example of powerful black metal, rich in melody and battling atmosphere. The new album contains six songs, being one of them a very nice folk song with a clear ritual tone, where the female vocals of Lindy Fay Hella play a major role. It is a very nice song, which can be considered a moment of calm during a ferocious battle. Apart from this track, the rest of the album is the expected carnage, with five ferocious songs of pure pagan black metal, not devoid of a great amount of excellent melodies and majesty. This epic touch can be immediately felt with the opening melody of the first track "Tydeus". An epic choir accompanied by acoustic guitars are immediately followed by aggressive black screaming vocals and some great riffs, whose melodies are tastefully composed and place through the whole song. The intensity goes higher with the next track, entitled "Atalanti", which has some faster sections of pure black metal. Anyway, the pace of the songs is never monotonous, as they varies it in a very natural way, from the typical pagan metal mid-tempo to blast beasts. The guitars play a very important role with inspired riffs which fit both the most straightforward sections, where the black aggressiveness reigns, and the pagan parts, where they have a more barbaric tone with a mid-tempo pace looking to work properly. Furthermore, the band enriches its sound adding some excellent folk touches during those more pagan black sections, using instruments like the flute or the bagpipes, which increase the sense of being immersed in the ancient Greek history. These additions are not everywhere as they are tastefully placed here and there like a bonus, which makes the album more interesting. The excellently composed and executed mixture of rawness, strength, melody and grandeur makes this album a pleasant listening and its length, around forty minutes, increases the need of listening to it again and again. The album closer, entitled "Medea", is not only the longest song, but also the perfect track summarizing all the aforementioned attributes, that make this album a great album. The song flows between the speedy sections, full of fury, to the most melodic ones, always leaving a room to atmospheric and folk sections, for a great ending!
In conclusion, ‘Adastreia’ is not a work released by a tired band, if anything it's the opposite by a band that still breaths passion in this music. This album is an impressive example of how pagan black can still sound fresh, inspired and grandiose. A must for every metal fan. (Alain González Artola)
Kawir plays a quite epic and barbaric form of pagan black metal. The band´s career is full of excellent albums and ‘Adastreia’ is another fine example of powerful black metal, rich in melody and battling atmosphere. The new album contains six songs, being one of them a very nice folk song with a clear ritual tone, where the female vocals of Lindy Fay Hella play a major role. It is a very nice song, which can be considered a moment of calm during a ferocious battle. Apart from this track, the rest of the album is the expected carnage, with five ferocious songs of pure pagan black metal, not devoid of a great amount of excellent melodies and majesty. This epic touch can be immediately felt with the opening melody of the first track "Tydeus". An epic choir accompanied by acoustic guitars are immediately followed by aggressive black screaming vocals and some great riffs, whose melodies are tastefully composed and place through the whole song. The intensity goes higher with the next track, entitled "Atalanti", which has some faster sections of pure black metal. Anyway, the pace of the songs is never monotonous, as they varies it in a very natural way, from the typical pagan metal mid-tempo to blast beasts. The guitars play a very important role with inspired riffs which fit both the most straightforward sections, where the black aggressiveness reigns, and the pagan parts, where they have a more barbaric tone with a mid-tempo pace looking to work properly. Furthermore, the band enriches its sound adding some excellent folk touches during those more pagan black sections, using instruments like the flute or the bagpipes, which increase the sense of being immersed in the ancient Greek history. These additions are not everywhere as they are tastefully placed here and there like a bonus, which makes the album more interesting. The excellently composed and executed mixture of rawness, strength, melody and grandeur makes this album a pleasant listening and its length, around forty minutes, increases the need of listening to it again and again. The album closer, entitled "Medea", is not only the longest song, but also the perfect track summarizing all the aforementioned attributes, that make this album a great album. The song flows between the speedy sections, full of fury, to the most melodic ones, always leaving a room to atmospheric and folk sections, for a great ending!
In conclusion, ‘Adastreia’ is not a work released by a tired band, if anything it's the opposite by a band that still breaths passion in this music. This album is an impressive example of how pagan black can still sound fresh, inspired and grandiose. A must for every metal fan. (Alain González Artola)
(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2019)
Score: 90
https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/kawir-adrasteia
Score: 90
https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/kawir-adrasteia