The Path of the Eternal Years

Formed in 1996, Kalpa is one of the earliest black metal acts to arise in South Korea and to my knowledge is still going though its discography is a small one. The project released one album "The Path of Eternal Years" in 2002 and this is pretty much the only release this act has had apart from an earlier three-way split. Still, we get what we can from what we can find. The major obsession of the album is all-out war, the total destruction of the world that follows and the existential agony of the last surviving human alternately blessed and cursed by vague gods to wander for all eternity.

Kalpa's style is melodic and epic in scope that combines a raw edge to the guitars, militant rhythms and background cold space-ambient synthesiser wash. The percussion is programmed but that's to be expected with a one-man act. The vocal is crabby and grim, and sometimes sounds very anguished, and spoken lyrics are included at various points. Kalpa clearly looks to forerunners like Burzum and Emperor for inspiration but tries to vary his sound and music and this is obvious in the album's 16-minute title track which features an Oriental-sounding flute melody halfway through the piece. The overall effect is majestic and often very beautiful but still very aggressive.

The rest of the album isn't quite so grand or complex in mood as the title piece; individual songs tend to be pale and shorter versions of the title track. "Black Souls of the Full Moon" especially is a straightforward militant song in full-attack mode with a super-fast rhythm and screeching vocals.

This is a surprisingly good album given that it's a debut and comes from an act in a very small black metal scene far from Europe and North America. Kalpa man Black Candle (all right, laugh if you want but it's not like he called himself Mahershalalhashbaz just to be difficult) sure knows and loves his black metal, probably too much so, as his music lacks a distinct identity. What's needed is a more distinctive sound which he could achieve by including more Korean folk elements and rhythms into the music and relying less on programmed drumming.

Before discovering Kalpa’s misanthropic regeneration of the second wave Scandinavian scene in the heart of Eastern Asia, I had only previously heard two other South Korean bands and they were the depressive act Svedhous and the atrocious Astaroth, a band which I’ve tried in vain to wipe clear from my tarnished memory, both of which are also one man bands. In regards to the South Korean scene, its hardly sprucing up the black metal scene since most of the bands seem inclined to worship the old European ways instead of igniting a new flame across Asia. However, this isn’t just a trait within the South Korean scene as the Chinese scene tends to do the same with bands like Zuriaake hammering home the tradition roots. As far as I can tell, only Japan is inclined to change the way in which Westerners view the Eastern black metal market. Whilst it does have its fair share of old school acts, it also has a widespread avant-gardé scene which could, potentially, rival any of the top producers of black metal.

‘The Path of the Eternal Years’, unlike some notable Japanese bands, isn’t going to change the face of black metal as we know it. Kalpa stick strictly to an old school style, though the oddly named Black Candle, the bands only musician, is certainly good at what he does, though I am under no illusions as to how good he is at his job. ‘The Path of the Eternal Years’ is, essentially, an ode to acts like Burzum - an idea we have seen hundreds of times before. However, there are a few notable differences from the way in which Kalpa operate, and the way in which the hundreds of generic clones choose to incorporate their obvious influences into the mix. Black Candle has an eye for even the slightest of innovative techniques which will keep his band separated from the market of piss-poor and sub-par clones who think they have a right to success. The inclusion of songs like the self-titled prove that Black Candle has more of an advantage than a number of bands in this field at achieving mass success, though that is hard to come by when you’re from a nation that doesn’t sport the finest black metal art.

Had Black Candle been German, who knows what sort of reputation Kalpa would have now. With that said, I have actually read a lot of positivity in regards to this record. It seems to have been issued the underground certificate of “true gems” of the scene. Personally, whilst agreeing, to some extent, that this record is good, I wouldn’t consider this the pinnacle of second wave worship. Although there have been former members, I will just assume Black Candle produced this himself, which is precisely why it sounds as if he’s used a drum machine to conjure a sense of percussion, though the drumming is largely ineffective. The additional information says he personally kicked every other member out of the band, which would lead me to assume he’d rather take sole control on the full-length, or that he kicked them out after the full-length because he wasn’t happy. Assumptions don’t make me happy, that’s for sure. With all that said and done, Black Candle definitely has some talent in regards to song writing, since he manages to fuse a really mystical sounding keyboard section into his music which generates a much better atmosphere than the drums can muster.

I had a feeling, although it was only vague, that the keyboards were tailored to sound as if they have a majestic Asian vibe to them. At least, that is the impression I get and when coupled with the sound of wind instruments (which is actually produced by the keyboards, though it sounds a lot like genuine flutes) during the self-titled song, this truly wonderful Asian/folk feeling comes alive, much to my joy, making this full-length a lot more visionary than it would first appear to be given the “Burzumic” guitar riffs, repetition and use of a aesthetically displeasing drum machine which, I suppose, does add to the continuity of the repetition, but when juxtaposed to the full flavoured feeling of the keyboards and the crucial solos, once again, during songs like the self-titled piece, its an area that sounds synthetic and out of place. Even the bass, an instrument usually buried beneath the clutter, has more of a defining role than the drums. Songs like ‘Summon The War’ are a good example of this as the variation hit’s the listener with a sense of shock. I didn’t expect Kalpa to produce such a mesmerising bass section and coupled with the infrequent use of the keyboards, they make a good team. Alongside bands like Funeral Rites and Zuriaake, East Asia has a fine second wave based black metal market.