Keep of Kalessin – Reptilian (2010)

Album Review

In many different types of music, one can find the stubborn traditionalists who preach to the choir as well as the crossover artists who have a better chance of reaching the unconverted. Black metal is no different. In black metal, there are the staunch traditionalists who proudly declare their allegiance to “true Norwegian black metal” (the ferocious Gorgoroth, for example) as well as the bands that have a lot more commercial appeal (such as Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir). And trying to sell a black metal hardliner on the merits of symphonic black metal is a lot like trying to convince a jazz purist that the late Grover Washington, Jr. was a great saxophonist; he most certainly was, but you’ll never convince a dogmatic bop snob of that. So bearing all those things in mind, Reptilian shouldn’t be recommended to black metal purists; there’s no way… Read more on allmusic.com

About the Band

During their first incarnation, Norway’s Keep of Kalessin were comprised of vocalist Ghâsh, guitarist/keyboardist Obsidian C., bassist Warach, and drummer Vyl, and released a pair of quite competent — but also rather typical — Scandinavian black metal albums in 1997′s Through Times of War and 1999′s Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark. Neither LP made much of an impact outside the extreme metal scene itself, and so the bandmembers went their separate ways, as… Read more on allmusic.com

Tracks

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