Clanking post metal and echoing voices form part of a powerful production which characterises “Sol Devina”, the opening track of this album, and belies the fact that it is this German band’s debut album. Black psychedelic doom metal is what they call it. I like the energy.
Kalmen go beyond metal soundscapes. There’s a crunchiness about the world they portray. “My Soul is Black” continues the dark and echo-ridden doominess which characterise the first two tracks and now this. The riff is merciless. The roaring vocals linger and echo. A melee of sounds emerges in the background and swirls through the pungent riff. It’s strong stuff indeed, reminiscent in its relentless gloom of Kongh. The pattern of despair superimposed on a leaden-heavy riff is doled out on “Katharseas”. It picks up and violent, menacing scenes present themselves to us, always with that steady, clanking riff to steady this turbulent ship. For a short while it spreads itself into a cosmic and frenetic metal world, ending on a frenzied note. The torment continues with the long and strident sounds of the eleven minute long “Naitrider”. Its beginning combines post metal with the familiar doom-laden riff. Screams and distant echoes and the wall of noise once again fill the black canvas. Whistling winds and the hypnotic riff conjure up a bleak picture of devastation. Kalmen know how to develop their soundscapes and do so here, reverting between the mechanical rhythm and what I can only describe as psychedelic chaos. Helpless cries merge with funereal tones and inescapably bleak cosmic voids. All that remains after the hyper atmospheric “Naitrider” is the outro to bring proceedings to a suitably gloomy and cosmic conclusion.
Post metal and doom can sometimes be one dimensional but the success of “Course Hex” lies in its many dark layers. To their great credit Kalmen mix a maelstrom of sounds with uncompromising riffs. The result is an album of great power and atmosphere.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply