(Our Slovenian writer Didrik Mešiček prepared the following review of a new album by the Slovenian atmospheric/experimental black metal band Kamra.)
Slovenia is rarely, if ever, on the map of interesting metal countries so today I’m happy to get to talk about some local lads who are definitely doing a lot of things right. Black metal continues to be one of the more interesting and innovative subgenres in metal today, and Kamra’s first album, Cerebral Alchemy, was already a good representation of that, but the band will now be releasing their second full-length album called Unending Confluence through Avantgarde Music on the 19th of September.
photo by Matija Zupan
Kamra has an interesting style when it comes to their lyricism, which slightly approaches the typical black metal cringe territory, but stops short of it, and their song titles instead sound intriguing. In this manner, the album starts with “Unlightment,” where a fittingly atmospheric opening feels like a light is slowly shining into a long-forgotten crypt, discovering its secrets and curses. The band does a good job of letting the sound develop so the song seamlessly gets into its more aggressive phase, and the drums maintain their intensity almost throughout, while the guitars add an aura of dissonance, and the vocals often sound simply possessed.
As is common with atmoblack, the songs are quite lengthy, often approaching ten minutes, and that really works well with Kamra’s sound. “Cavernal Rebirth of Ends” takes on a dissonant sound for a large part of it and overall the song feels like a sonical expression of madness, which is reflected in the instrumentals switching from furious to tame and withdrawn, and the vocals from enraged to confused.
“Owlgrowth” is a bit of a risk as it’s a 3:07-long piece that acts as an intermezzo and has no vocals, nor does it develop into a proper song – it’s simply an atmospheric piece with which the band seems to almost be worldbuilding and further creating an image of a place deeply haunted.
The wait pays off and the album gets into its crescendo as both “Weaver’s Bane” and “Of Pillars, Walls and Mutilation” are great tracks, especially the latter really bringing out the eeriness the band sometimes strive for. A major part of that are the vocals of Nik Košar, whose versatility fits the band perfectly as he can effortlessly cover a wide range of vocal expression – my favourite of which is his really impressive high scream that vaguely reminds me of Uada. His regular growl, however, has this impressive style where the words sound like they are actually being spewed forth from his throat, as if he’s trying to get rid of some horror infesting him.
I have to mention the artwork by artwork by Jeff Christensen as well. I think it’s one of the coolest looking album covers I’ve seen in a while and it actually complements the sound of the album as well.
The release finishes with “Dreams of Veiled Veins,” another in line of Unending Confluence’s bipolar tracks, as atmospheric elements fight with black metal’s harshness – this one even featuring some clean vocals in the background while the drums are absolutely relentless.
The band certainly live up to their experimental black metal label, and it’s an experiment that worked out rather well. Kamra showcases a lot of innovation in the 40-minute runtime of this record, managing to find beauty in the darkness and prolonging it into a ghastly experience that’s both haunting and soothing at the same time. All of that makes Unending Confluence an album where few faults can be found, and all one should do is embrace the madness and hope more of it comes our way.
LINEUP:
L. B. – bass
D. K. – drums
J. B. – guitars
D. – guitars, keyboards
K. – vocals
https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/unending-confluence
https://voicesofkamra.bandcamp.com/album/unending-confluence
https://www.facebook.com/VoicesOfKamra/
https://www.instagram.com/voices_of_kamra/