Kraken – a mythical creature that confused me for years. As a child I fell in love with Greek mythology through the film Clash of the Titans. “Release the Kraken!” what a scene. Poseidon unleashed the mighty beast upon Andromeda. So that is my image of a Kraken. It will always be so.
Years later I see that the Kraken is a giant squidlike creature – nah ah. Not in my head sunshine. Ray Harryhausen didn’t make no calamari motherfucker!
I digress.
This particular Kraken – Kraken Dvvmvirate are a Finnish Doom/Death ensemble. Their music is slow and epic so it is no wonder that this is their first full length following extended players in 2008 and 2011. The tides were obviously right for this release. This album turns the natural order upside down. The stars shine brightly beneath the waves whilst nautical nasties roam the galaxy. Is the album worth a few squid? (so sorry). Well…
This is old school sounding Doom/Death – sloooooow, atmospheric, gothic and dark. The opener Star –Spawn sets the scene with a mixture of grandeur and eerie alienlike sections. The vocals mix between Nyron from Bal Sagoth, Aaron from MDB and bizarrely Timo from CBT. It made me feel as though I was stood at the bridge of a space ship with a gigantic space alien facing me through the glass warning me of my impending doom. Real “The Abyss” vibes here.
The album is split into sections. There are four named tracks each of epic lengths – the closer being 15 minutes long. Between each of these are bridges that are just numbered and serve as instrumental scene setters – imagine them as loading screens preparing for the next gargantuan passage of tentacled terror. I wish I had the lyric sheet to go with this album so I could follow more closely what is going on the in the brains of the duo. Magus Polypus Apollyon XIII and Grand Architeuthis S. Dux are their names. Mystery men – I bet their parents won’t let them have their names on footie shirts at Xmas!
The Temple – the second section – is kinda jaunty at first. Slight Alcest vibes but with a slow cinematic vocal. Things then slow further to an ethereal doom post rock place. A strange electronic zither like noise acts like a strange whale song swimming through waves of high-pitched guitar and haunting gravel throated rasps.
The title track is heavy on the Bal Sagoth vibe – but without Byron’s over the top delivery. The vocals are narrated gently allowing a much more gothic air – think early Fields of the Nephillim. The music beneath is a mix of gentle guitars and abrasive but distant drums. A very dreamy affair that wafts across the ears rather than penetrating.
Queen Arise is the weighty beast at the end of this album. Things continue much in the same scaley vein as they did in the title track. It sounds great but it is not going anywhere. Of course some of the greatest doom albums of recent years have managed to hold the attention span by stretching a few chords over a large expanse of time, allowing the listener to nod out or nod along.
Kraken Duumvirate manage to create a great atmosphere but lack the heaviness to punctuate the swathes of gloom and pastels that shroud each track. The guitars are too low in the mix for me – I wanted to feel as though the beastie was coming up/or down behind me, blocking out the horizon and either making me lose all hope or relinquishing myself to her glorious majesty. This was part achieved but I remained only moist not saturated by the sound.
These Finns have recorded an interesting sci-fi shanty that deserves a listen. It could just do with a little more metal amongst its fronds and starlight.
(6.5/10 Matt Mason)
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