Kêres has never been a band that delved into frivolic and experimental outskirts of Black Metal. Whenever you buy a record bearing the band name, you know that primitive and raw Black Metal is on the menu. So, rejoice if you appreciate the work of Atvar, as 2023 brings not only the 5th full-length album ‘Vexilloid’, but also a new EP entitled ‘The King Sleeps without Tears’.
While the formula of Kêres has always focussed on more mid-paced Black Metal, variation from one release to another cannot be denied. When comparing the previous full-length ‘Ice, Vapor and Crooked Arrows’ to the subsequent EP ‘Flaming Ash’, this mostly presented itself in the production: the rawness and distorted sound of the guitars on the album was somewhat dampened on the EP, allowing to enhance the atmosphere of the music a little bit more. On ‘Vexilloid’ we find a sound that levitates between the two, with slightly more emphasis on a bass heavier sound. The result is something that’s even closer to the heavier 80’s sound of Celtic Frost, and also musically the parallels are obvious. As a result, the latest album sounds somewhere between a mix of the heaviness of Celtic Frost, the vocals of Beherit, catchiness of Darkthrone on albums like ‘Panzerfaust’ and ‘Ravishing Grimness’ and the mid-tempo moodiness of Barathrum. Similar to that last band, background keyboards add a layer of atmosphere to the record. While those aren’t new to the sound of Kêres and featured for instance on both ‘Ice, Vapor and Crooked Arrows’ already, the heavier and slightly less distorted production on ‘Vexilloid’ makes them all the more effective as an enhancement for the primitive and regressive guitar riffs. Add in a good chunky bass guitar sound, and essentially you get a perfect occult mix of first wave and second wave Black Metal. Closer ‘Move’ deserves a mention for being out of that formulaic box, however. Composed of just a guitar riff and atmospheric keys, together with Atvar’s rasping snarls it entrances the listener into an otherworldy atmosphere that is perhaps further removed from the regressive nature of the band, but works remarkably well.
In a time that the length of albums and songs seem to continues stretch the boundaries of the genres and listener attention spans, it’s refreshing to hear a band like Kêres: a straight to the point fist in the face of modernity. ‘Vexilloid’ is nothing more and nothing less than 29 minutes of unpretentious, uncompromising and regressive Black Metal. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
