Khold - Morke Gravers Kammer CD Review

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2005-02-11 : massdirge : Link
This may be too detailed but whatever. Truthfully, I didn't like this album at first (also my only Khold record) since I tend to prefer lengthier songs (cd is about 38 mins) and industrial/noise type environments. I gradually started enjoying this disc more and more with each listen. Overall mixing and production is all-around very good. The vocals are a little more prominent in certain places which is cool. There's a special care taken on panning individual drum toms, which gives the material a more three-dimensional feel. I was also originally put off because, despite two guitarists, the guitars sound a bit thin, somewhat lacking in low end, and not as distorted/high-gain like I'm used to with Nile. There's also barely any palm or string muting. Luckily, there is a complete lack of any kind of soloing! Finally!! The production though does contribute to Khold's, well, cold feel and image, which I thing is fucking cool. Also, since the guitars lack low end, this gives the bass, Thomas (also of Red Harvest!), room to breathe. As a result, you can actually hear the fucking bass guitar on this record! Another major plus is Gard's raw vocals, which are entirely in Norwegian and sound fucking sick!! I would say the vocals are my favorite aspect of the band. Khold generally prefers a mid-tempo and only occasionally reach blast-beat speed, which is great because they like atmosphere and feel instead of always trying to fit as many notes/hits as possible. This may not appeal to those with ADHD. I think "Niflheimr" is the best track; it's the fastest and also shortest. There's very little in the way of ambience and effects (which many of you won't give a shit about), apart from some awesome use of reverb on the drums giving the perfect "tundra" feel. I thought this to be kinda strange when taking their whole modus operandi/image into account and thought they could've used just a little more sparse electronics. Bottom line is I'll definitely be getting Khold's other works, "Phantom" and "Masterpiss of Pain". Many may be put off because these guys actually have their own identity, their music has dynamics, and don't promote themselves as Satanists (certainly not that I have a problem with that, as I practice Satanism myself, but it's a refreshing departure). They also care about mixing... not like black metal purists will give a shit or lead you on by that because this is still nice and raw but sounds very fucking good.