Karkaos : The Children Of The Void (Review)
Ok, here is my first impression : Wow! Karkaos, from Montréal returns with this new album and it's great. This is the third release of the band. The band was founded back in 2003 by Vincent Harnois and started by releasing a first EP In Burning Skies in 2011 and followed the full length Empire in 2013. Since their beginning the band has been praised for their music, the doors opened for them to perform with acts like Eternity and Enslaved. With time the band changed and recruited new members. Viky Boyer took the mic to front the band with a clean voice. And to complete the changes to the band Justine Ethier sits behind the drums and adds her experience (Blackguard, Sykode) to bring her heavy beat to back the bands loud music.The band is completed with the guitar talents of Samael Pelletier, the melodies and effects of Sébastien Belanger-Lapierre on the keyboard.
Alright, now to the album, I said wow on top there that was my reaction after a few chords after a few chords into Skymaster, the first song after the instrumental intro. You now want to know if Children Of The Void kept that effect through the other 10 songs, well yes it did. The girls and guys of Karkaos know their stuff, they do have the experience and it shows. They have a good idea of what the audience like in that genre. The first connection my brain did was Amon Amarth, Karkaos has that powerful sound that makes you ready to go for a journey against stronger forces. All the elements that are added to the music, bring up the word epic in my head. The music is fast and hits hard in all of the songs. I loved this album and will listen to it again. The music is well mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson and Marc-o Frechette at The Grid (The Agonist, Cryptopsy, Neuraxis, Beyond Creation). All the instruments are well displayed and easy to hear everything. The guitars of Vincent and Samael are heavy and well balanced, they have a nice distortion on them and when it comes to guitar solos, they are very beautiful and technical, but they never take over the whole song to become the only highlight of the song, but they are part of the team that brings that amazing collection of tracks. The drum lines of Justine are great, i love how it hits so hard and it makes the journey through The Children Of The Void a great experience. She is brutal and throws her energy into the songs, it sounds like war drums giving the beat to a marching army. The keyboard work of Sébastien is very good. The melodies and sound effects are very well-placed in the songs, they give them a strong and dramatic ambiance. The idea of the album's and the feeling of it really comes out in the little instrumental introductions to some of the songs. They give that epic feeling with instruments that reminds me of a medieval battle with the horns and the choir effects. The voice of Viky is beautiful she comes out the most of this album and she gives it a flavour, she is the main character of that story and she answers to Vincent's growl with a clean and determined voice. The album also features the collaboration Morgan Lander of Kittie, and the Lindsey Schoolcraft from Cradle of Filth. Karkaos is going for a more professional sound and they made the right choices, they didn't fall for the catchy chorus or any tacky effects that would have taken away the death metal out of the songs. The band didn't compromise and it sounds great I love this album and will listen to it a lot. For the fans of Arch Enemy, In Flames and Amon Amarth check this album. They are still independent, so that means they do a lot of work that bigger bands don't do anymore to get their album out there and they deserve respect for that. Karkaos on facebook
You can watch the band video for KOLOSSÒS