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Kawir > Eumenides > Reviews
Kawir - Eumenides

Bless them, all people, with silence - 70%

autothrall, July 9th, 2011

Kawir have long been an exciting prospect for me, because of all the core Hellenic black metal outfits, it is they who best embody the traditional history and mythology of their land through the lyrical concepts they employ. Yes, others like Rotting Christ may dabble in their national past for brief spells, but they seemed to expand their subject matter to a broader, occult spectrum. With the Eumenides EP, named for the Greek deities of vengeance (aka Erinyes), Kawir introduced themselves unto the underground, the first of several sadly overlooked recordings that, while not exactly breathtaking or mindblowing, might have seen a broader appeal based on their concepts alone...

This is your pretty standard Greek black metal for the time, with clear parallels drawn towards the works of Varathron or Rotting Christ (His Majesty at the Swamp, Non Serviam). The EP poses an interesting internal contrast, for while "The Adored Cry of Olympus" swoons along with sampled flutes, eerie synthesizers, plodding bass, and sailing, sorrow-spun guitar melodies among the crushing vocal rasp; "Eumenides" itself is a faster, grandiose piece with thicker guitar lines cast in a belligerent propulsion. The band still incorporates grim keyboard atmospheres into the latter, and they're admittedly creepy, but they sound far more potent and poignant when they're raging like the great bitch Hera when she discovers her mate Zeus lying with another mortal sucker! Thus, the title track is my favorite of the two here, but that's not to say that the chill and solemn "Olympus" need be ignored, only that the two feel a little jilted in conjunction, and it might have been a better idea to run with two of the more intense tracks.

Eumenides does sound rather rough, with its fuzzier guitars and slightly uneven mix, but just about everything from Greece at the time was in the same boat, so at least they get credit for overcoming this with half-decent compositions. Unfortunately, this has got to be one of the most overlooked bands in the entire scene, and they remain so even after almost two decades of their exquisite heathendom. Where bands like Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh were thrust into the spotlight, and even Varathron and Necromantia gained a noteworthy cult following, Kawir seem to have idled in the dust. They might not have ever released anything on the level of those that I just name-dropped, but they certainly deserve some attention, for exploring not only their cultural roots, but in such an efficient hybrid of the grim and eloquent.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

In Remembrance of Ancient Greece - 85%

CannibalCorpse, November 29th, 2006

I've already listened to Kawir's 1999 album "Epoptia" prior to this and I wasn't very impressed. It was a Black metal album trying to find a niche between typical oldschool Greek BM and modern, keyboard and effect-laden Black Metal. It failed for the most part.

So people recommended Kawir's earliest works to me. I wasn't sure what to think of this recommendation, but I tried "Eumenides". I'm glad I did.

"Eumenides" has a very strong Varathron vibe (well, Necroabyssos is on vocals here) but mixes the Varathron style with a more occult and even darker tone. The bass-intro to "The Adored Cry of Olympus" sounds more intense and dark than all Necromantia work I've heard so far. It's generally midpaced and filled with awesome riffs and very prominent bass work - A fantastic display of the most occult side of Greek Black Metal.

The title track is a lot faster and loses a bit of the aforementioned atmosphere in the process, but is still a very good song. It has more Hellenic keyboard work than "The Adored Cry of Olympus" but lacks those extremely memorable riffs. The distortion is cranked up to 11 here, carried by furious drumming and Necroabyssos is spitting his verses in a very commanding manner.

Well, sadly this EP is very short and I didn't manage to get their debut album "To Cavirs" yet, so I'll have to stick to these two songs. I recommend this mini EP to all fans of Greek BM. At least "The Adored Cry of Olympus" is an essential listen.