Band:	Keep Of Kalessin
Album:	Kolossus
Style:	Melodic black metal
Release date:	June 06, 2008
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. Origin
02. A New Empire's Birth
03. Against The Gods
04. The Rising Sign
05. Warmonger
06. Escape The Union
07. The Mark Of Power
08. Kolossus
09. Ascendant

It is time to unleash hell once more as Keep Of Kalessin return with their follow-up to the hugely popular "Armada" with an even more malevolent, heroic and grand offering of chaos in the form of the suitably titled "Kolossus". Keep Of Kalessin evoke hell and bring it to earth once more with a battalion of demons providing musical pandemonium, and a wing of succubi to hold a melodic backing to it all. This is inspired music indeed and although not unique within the world of black metal, it is another much needed breath of fresh air to the festering mass of black metal of recent years.

Keep Of Kalessin bring an almost progressive element to their already melodic but ferocious black metal. This is seemingly the result of Enslaved and Emperor's sneaky copulation they didn't tell anyone about from a drunken back-alley fumble from the dark days of past. "Kolossus" brings together the progressive style Enslaved have adopted as of recent years and mashes it together with both the melody and sheer epic proportions Emperor created with their music. So many times melodic black metal bands can become so diluted and wishy-washy, but Keep Of Kalessin are here poignant and both melodic and extreme, not to mention how aggressive and diverse the album is at the same time. An amazing blast from "A New Empire's Birth" and "Against The Gods" compared to the slightly quirky but still blastbeat-laden "Warmonger" and the absolute grandeur and epicness of the title track "Kolossus" and "Ascendant" to close the album with such an atmosphere of legends. The whole album has the Keep Of Kalessin stamp all over it, it is all intelligent, beautiful and destructive music with complex and devious guitar riffs, at times mind-blowingly fast blastbeats and double bass, and also varied vocals ranging from both harsh but not raspy, to clean and even at times soft such as in the opening of "The Mark Of Power" while at all times remaining comprehendible.

This colossal album is in an exclusive category of albums that are entertaining, interesting and highly enjoyable to listen to, and with it Keep Of Kalessin have just raised the bar on the whole black metal scene with this masterful piece of work. It is rare that an album be so diverse and pushes all the boundaries, and still have the entire thing be so captivating and consistently good. The almost death metal title track and majestic last track "Ascendant" are guaranteed to melt your icy blackened hearts and send a shiver down your spine, this is almost as good as this kind of music can get. Keep Of Kalessin have once again risen up from the masses and risen up from hell to offer some of the best music they have ever created that is surely destined to become a classic.