Through Times of War

Keep of Kalessin's first effort, Through Times of War, is a behemoth of melodic and melancholic black metal. This album goes sorely overlooked. With their recent popularity with the releases of both Armada and Kolossus, not many people know that before those two monumental albums, KoK was a very underappreciated and technical black metal act.

What sets this release apart from the others is the clever and sparing use of synths, something Keep of Kalessin have avoided like the plague after the Reclaim EP. Another notable difference is the vocalist. Thebon is not present on both Through Times of War and Agnen: A Journey Through the dark, nor the Reclaim EP (which surprisingly enough features the legendary Attila Csihar on all vocals before departing KoK to rejoin Mayhem), but rather features Ghâsh, whose chilling shrieks and terrifying growls compliment the onslaught of riffs and double bass drumming.

Songs like Through Times of War, As a Shadow Cast, I Choose to Suffer, and Nectarous Red showcase the true melodic intentions Keep of Kalessin originally wanted to convey, and had they kept true to this, who knows what this incredibly underrated band would have become? Keep of Kalessin missed the late-90's black metal bandwagon, but have since become a respectable band in their own right, creating a haunting and chilling atmosphere- the soundtrack to the most excruciating and vexatious torture ever performed.

Through Times of War has a general slower tempo than that of their future releases, with lots of breaks and even a breakdown here and there. The abundance of acoustics also helps set the tone for the album, highlighting the technical genius of A.O. Gronbech, KoK's primary songwriter. There are quite a few scale runs, and even some sweep picking. Cold, dissonant riffs that create emotions beyond intensity.

The bass here is fairly inaudible, but during the slower sections it provides a great backing wall of sound to give the other instruments substance. The drumming is sort of down in the mix, but the cymbals and bells stand out splendidly.

Vocally, Ghâsh performs at the top of his career. His screams are filled with hatred, despair, and hopelessness. Especially during ...Itch..., the secret track after Nectarous Red. The album ends with "ITCH, ITCH, ITCH, IIIIIIIITCHHHHHHH," then abruptly stops. Absolutely perfect. I couldn't ask for a more painstakingly emotional album closure.

There really isn't much more to say except that this album cannot go overlooked any longer. With Armada and Kolossus putting Keep of Kalessin on the black metal map, their previous works have been long forgotten. It's time for them to rise again.

The mid/ late nineties was a tumultuous time for black metal, it was experiencing "commercial" popularity on levels that was previously cause to mock death metal acts, once shunned by the underground black metal scene. Black metal, everyone was doing it; everyone wanted to sound typically Norwegian except a relatively unknown group called Keep of Kalessin from the small town of Trondheim, Norway. Struggling to secure a place to rehearse the group knocked up a rough demo tape that resulted in Avantgarde Music releasing Through Times of War on an unsuspecting world.

Sonically solid, bone-crushing heavy riffs and clear production stood them a fair distance from their fellow countrymen but make no mistake Keep of Kalessin are black metal to the core. Only their choice of sound (warm and murky) and overall production (crystal clear) separates them from the Norwegian legions and wannabes. Clean like a haunting sea breeze; pushing a tidal wave of immense force onto a frigid shoreline. Immediately you are dumped beneath the stroke of two power chords followed by a wash of tremolo picking, as the waves/chords keep crashing and the undertow of tremolo drags you out to your watery grave. Death
cannot be stopped nor can the headbanging fury that this track hence creates. Obsidian C's guitars just keep bumping and grinding your head, while Ghash lays on some perfectly agonized and purgatory cursed vocals, even treading the clean/spoken word delivery mid song. Sliding guitar chords provided breaks for thunderous drum rolls and after we run this pattern a few times the song gives way to furious tremolo picking, this holds one of the keys as to where the black metal feeling lies - within the oscillating frozen notes...

Throughout TToW the drums really stand out a mile, roaring, echoing like storm clouds colliding in the darkened skies above a bleak wall of piercing guitars. Den Siste Krig begins with a drum roll, the song soon breaks into full speed until another roll lands us in a mid paced break that just rocks in a most serious way - ruling supreme until the finale with the odd riff change until it’s eventually slaughtered towards the end by a dissecting guitar melody but ending in total fist banging fury.

As A Shadow Cast is a haunting cocktail of gloomy rapture and brutality, in that order!
I Choose to Suffer features some cool overlapping vocals, you will also find some synth work lurking behind the slower passages that hold for a while before the song returns to pedal to the metal riffing, along with a crazy ass solo and a bit of whammy fun.
Acoustic guitars build up a somewhat gothic mood with some cool drum patterns beneath and great use of double bass; they start repeating the same notes on guitar (which are power chord structures but each note is picked individually) at this point the drumming moves to a brisker black metal beat ¾ time embraced by a drum roll, growl and electric guitars this is Skygger av Sorg. Plenty of traditional styled black metal riffs here with blast beats interspersed plus some spoken word stuff in the middle, nice!

Obliterator is next and what can I say, they couldn’t have chosen a better name for this track, from the very first note it’s just super-fast, the chorus is classic frantic black metal single notes ala Dark Throne, this track is 5 minutes 42 seconds worth of sheer terror.
Nectarous Red, sheer magnificence; dark, alluring, violent, melancholic, it goes through all the motions - its blackened delight, its drunken headbanging in your lounge room, its evil as fuck, its purely unforgettable! The key change alone used in the final melody will make you wanna play it again but don’t stop that disc yet because there is more to come and it’s worth its weight in sinners souls. Within a minute it starts, crank your stereo (this track appears recorded a bit quieter) scratch that itch - it’s the twilight zone riff and the howling shrieks multiply each time in urgency and insanity, especially at the end.

Ok, so this isn’t ground breaking stuff, it draws its influences from other established acts but uses them in their own style and might I add to breathtaking effect, I would hazard to say its similar to later Immortal efforts ie Damned in Black but more memorable plus years before them. In a nutshell its black metal with a death metal balls, an inbred monster of Sweden and Norway perhaps, you decide.