KAWN — Kawn (review)

Album · 2019 · Progressive Metal

2/5 · 2020-03-12
siLLy puPPy

Ever since Myrath emerged from Tunisia to rock the metal world with a unique hybrid of Arabic ethnic sounds with the more bombastic adrenaline energy of metal, only a few bands have dared follow in their footsteps despite the Arabic speaking world of the Middle East and North Africa encompassing a huge population but it seems that many who dare to embrace the modern metal approach prefer to release albums anonymously in digital form only since in some cases it is punishable by death. Geez. Get a grip over there!

Although the band name may make you yawn, there’s a band named KAWN that has emerged from Casablanca, Morocco and consists of Said El Harrami (vocals), Salahiddine Kida (drums), Tarik Heddoun (guitar), Med Amine Benabdelmoumen (keyboards) and Amine Moussaoui (bass) and just because i know you’re dying to know, in Arabic the band’s name is كون ! This group of headbangers was formed in 2015 but only released the self-titled debut in 2019 with nine tracks that squeak past the 58 minute mark. Actually metal has become quite popular in Morocco with many bands like Torpedo, Suicide Machine, Alcantagram, Into The Evernight, Chemical Bliss and Mean Street taking North Africa to the mosh pit.

What can i say about KAWN’s epic debut? Well, is this really from the Arab world? Wow. This band has really learned how to capture the essence of melodic progressive metal in the vein of bands like Leprous, Riverside, Shadow Gallery and Sieges Even just to name a few. This band basically employs melodic progressive compositions that utilize operatic vocals, heavily symphonic accompaniments with guitar, bass and drums that support the main melody. The keyboards are always in the forefront always in full atmospheric mode. There are a few local folk elements but nothing as hardcore as Myrath. In fact KAWN opts to adopt the more recent developments of Myrath with catchier melodies that are aimed for crossover opportunities.

The production is crystal clear and the elements of music work quite well but the problem with KAWN is that at this point this band lacks any sort of originality and this really sounds like some generic prog metal band from about 10 years ago. Having done its homework quite well, these musicians who clearly have the potential to imitate the greats of the genre seem to rely too much on hero worship and in the process forget to add their own stamp. This is not a bad album per se but there’s really nothing that jumps out and grabs ya either. This is a very by the numbers sort of prog metal album based in the symphonic camp that just sort of passes you by like a nice breeze and then is completely forgettable.

With all those beautiful rhythms and ethnic music that Morocco is famous for i’d expect a few more influences form the culture around but KAWN seems to want to escape its homeland totally and create some substandard Euro-vision album instead. Nobody told these guys that this party ended a while ago but hopefully they’ll figure that out and add some creative juices to the next album assuming they are still around to make one. Decent inoffensive music and perfect for background static if you’re engaged in other activities but lacking anything remotely original that gives it a bite. Melodies are mediocre at best and instrumental delivery is equivalent. The album is too long and there’s not even one track that makes me want to revisit this album. Unfortunately KAWN makes me yawn like a nap on the lawn and i’ll sleep it all off until the break of the dawn.