Although Keep of Kalessin may have started off as a melodic variant on Norwegian black metal and came into existence during the formative second wave period of the genre, they branched off significantly stylistically in the years that followed and have found their own path to explore for the past few decades. By emphasizing songwriting that skewed towards the epic and often incorporated symphonic and progressive elements alongside huge, polished production values, they offered a sound that felt like it spanned just about every aspect of metal but managed to pull it together in a seamless manner. 2015’s Epistemology found Keep of Kalessin pared down to a trio, with founder Obsidian Claw taking over on lead vocals, but only a few years later they would find themselves without a drummer and entered a lengthy period of inactivity. With Wanja "Nechtan" Gröger joining the fold in 2019, the group has re-emerged in 2023 with Katharsis and it feels like they’ve used the extended downtime to re-kindle the fire. Katharsis may not radically change what Keep of Kalessin has done before, but the writing is more diverse and hits even greater peaks than before while recapturing some of the intensity and grit of their earlier works.
Reptilian and Epistemology still pulled from black and death metal, but it often felt like they were a bit more focused on soaring melodies that pulled Keep of Kalessin a bit closer to symphonic and even power metal at times compared to some of the more extreme elements of their earlier days. I think there’s quality to be found on both sides of the band’s discography, but if you were missing some of the weight and grit from earlier on Katharsis feels like it finds the right balance between the two. The title track comes roaring in with frantic, blasting drums and a huge sound that feels like death metal and thrash overlaid with the soaring melodies of power or symphonic metal. It makes a strong first impression, delivering the kind of blitzkrieg drumming and frantic speed of black and death metal but still having standout hooks underneath the flashiness and technicality. From there the band does their best to demonstrate just how diverse of an offering Katharsis is, sometimes emphasizing the black metal side of things with riffs that bring fire and abrasiveness and other times letting the melodic side soar into the stratosphere in ways that bring more of a melodic death metal vibe. This may not sound too out of character for Keep of Kalessin, especially if you’ve spent time with their more recent output, but where this album shines above some of those efforts is in its ability to shake things up and keep things focused on passages that engage the listener even as the lengths sprawl outwards. Even with the tempo often skewing towards the fast and furious for much of the album’s run, lengthier numbers like “The Omni”, “The Obsidian Expanse”, and “Throne of Execration” have natural pauses and offer enough twists and turns to justify their time. It may be a bit more streamlined in some ways and not as outright progressive as some of the band’s back catalog, but the fact that these lengthier pieces feel short because of how engaging they are makes a difference and there are still some progressive flourishes to the writing. I suspect “Journey’s End” may be the track that proves to be hit or miss for listeners though, as Keep of Kalessin goes full-on ballad here and explores much softer and subdued textures that head more towards hard rock and heavy metal. Personally, I felt it worked and provided a nice melancholic respite before the bombastic instrumentation came back in a few minutes later, but I could see it being divisive depending on tastes.
As mentioned earlier, Obsidian Claw took over on lead vocals for Epistemology (as well as the preceding EP Introspection), though he had done some backing vocal work previously. What he brought to the table on that album was a mix of harsher screams and growls alongside cleaner singing that expanded the melodic side of the band’s sound, and while the performance had some rougher moments it still had plenty of strong points. Obsidian Claw has only gotten stronger in the years since, as his performance on Katharsis comes through as more confident and nuanced. During the harsher moments his raspier pitch cuts through the wall of sound and grabs your attention, while the cleaner ranges have more power and retain the same amount of energy. It’s an impressive mix that brings some heavy metal flair into the extreme side, and when you combine that with some of the spoken word on some of the songs the vocal elements are just as diverse as the instrumentation. “Journey’s End” represents one of the biggest risks Keep of Kalessin took on this album, as rather than bringing in a guest for the ballad Obsidian Claw tackled it himself and goes for a more somber and reflective singing tone. It does have a few rough spots but ultimately succeeds in establishing a moodier atmosphere, and it showcases the evolution he’s gone through on the singing front.
Keep of Kalessin may have gone seven years between releases, but they’ve come back sounding more polished and re-energized in the process. Katharsis naturally expands upon all facets of the band’s sound, amping up the aggression and black/death sides while also letting the melodies and symphonic elements explode into truly immense sounding arrangements. It also avoids some of the pitfalls of their discography, injecting enough variety to keep the faster blasting from all running together and providing strong enough writing so that the longer tracks don’t drag. The ballad might be divisive to some, but I’ve found it enjoyable and a sign that this group isn’t afraid to challenge themselves and continue exploring. Keep of Kalessin still doesn’t quite have the same notoriety as some of the other Norwegian bands out there, but with later career highlights like this one there’s still time for them to appeal to a whole new generation of metal fans. Katharsis is available from Morningstar Music/Back on Black.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg