Kêres – Eidolon Abraxas

Just a few months after the simultaneous release of a new Kêres EP and full-length we find ourselves with yet another album. This time presented under the banner of His Wounds, we can envelop ourselves in 36 more minutes of minimalistic and regressive Black Metal courtesy of main man Atvar. But ‘Eidolon Abraxas’ certainly isn’t an exact follow-up of the band’s recent releases.

Kêres has always adhered to a style of Black Metal that is based around the very foundation of Finnish Black Metal. Beherit and Barathrum form the undeniable core influences of the band, resulting in a minimal style of Black Metal with droning repetition that mostly transpires at a medium pace. On the last two full-lengths and EPs, all released under the Terratur Possessions banner, Atvar had steered the band into an increasingly more regressive direction, leaning further on first wave acts such as Samael, or Black Metal godfathers such as Venom and Celtic Frost. On ‘Eidolon Abraxas’ this still forms the very foundation of the band, but the album does centre a little bit more around melodious riffs. In that sense, the album leans closer to some older Kêres work like ‘Battle Secrets’ and ‘Book of Desire’. But instead of going further where those albums left off, the latest record rather strikes a balance with the more recent material.

On ‘Eidolon Abraxas’ we essentially find the minimalistic and regressive approach and raw guitar sound of ‘Ice, Vapor and Crooked Arrows’ and ‘Vexilloid’, mixed with the more melodious sound of ‘Book of Desire’. In addition, the keyboards that were especially present on ‘Vexilloid’ make their return, making ‘Eidolon Abraxas’ an album that’s gritty but also has an otherworldly, melancholic atmosphere. More than ever before, the band flirts with the Greek Black Metal sound, but without getting anywhere near all the bombast. Instead, the Heavy Metal melodicism and the spooky keys of some of that’s scene’s frontrunners can be found back on the latest Kêres record. But due to the rawer sound and Beherit and Barathrum infuence, at no point does Kêres sound like a clone of, well anything really. It sound undeniably as Kêres, raw with the raspy vocals of Atvar, minimalistic in progression and with an odd sense of catchiness.

Consisting of eight songs, the more traditional Black Metal tracks are interspersed with three ambient/dungeon synth interludes that mostly enhance the alienating atmosphere of the record. Not exactly known for their wide variety in style, the individual tracks still add a different flavor to the album. ‘Augurs Speak’ sets the tone for the raw and cosmic sound, with minimal progression but a great break in the song towards the end. ‘Eidolon’ is a more atonal song with a dragging midtempo section with some off the beaten path rhythms. ‘Signs’ is a little less regressive in nature, instead hinting towards the 90’s French Black metal scene that later turns into a more epic, Greek sounding riff. In ‘Turbid Churns Call’ the melody sounds more in the vein of Black Sabbath with heavily distorted guitars that turns into a more grim and melancholic direction. And with ‘Bones Fall’ the album reaches its conclusion with a more straightforward track where background horns add an ominous tone to end the record on a high note.

Those that love Kêres will certainly embrace ‘Eidolon Abraxas’. More than anything it unites the rawer and regressive nature of the recent releases with the full-lengths released a little longer ago. And thus, it remains admirable how Atvar can continue to find ways to pay tribute to the origins of Black Metal within a style focused on minimalistic music, without sounding like he’s repeating himself.