KEEP OF KALESSIN — Kolossus (review)

KEEP OF KALESSIN — Kolossus album cover Album · 2008 · Melodic Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
Kolossus is the 4th full-length studio album and the second since their reformation in 2003 by Norwegian black metal act Keep of Kalessin. As many others I became aquainted with Keep of Kalessin through their succesful 2006 release Armada.

The music on Kolossus is pretty polished black metal with traditional heavy metal elements. There are tons of blast beats, raw vocals and fast-paced riffing on the album yet it´s very melodic and might I say... accessible. Keep of Kalessin are very skilled composers and understand the importance of variation on an extreme metal album ( not that Kolossus is very extreme compared to other black metal releases). The Mark of Power is a good example with its acoustic sections. The fact that the main riff is blatantly stolen from The Black Horsemen from the Abigail (1987) album by King Diamond doesn´t make The Mark of Power any less interesting. But it´s not the only song which stand out on the album. In fact all songs are pretty memorable and well composed. The musicianship is excellent throughout. Keep of Kalessin are a tight and powerful unit.

While Kolossus should impress me and does impress me to some extent, I do have a problem with the very polished nature of the album. I think the album lacks a bit of bite and dark attitude which are otherwise more or less a trademark in black metal. If you like your black metal polished and not too dark Kolossus is sure to impress though and I find the album highly recommendable to fans of the lighter and more polished side of black metal.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us