TIDES OF KHARON: “ANCIENT SLEEPER”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 262023
 

(DGR has finally completed a review of the latest EP, released last June, by Tides of Kharon from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.)

Believe it or not we actually do have a history with Canadian group Tides Of Kharon. Up to this point we’ve covered every EP the band have released – no full-length albums as of yet – most recently the 2021 release of Titanomachy alongside British group Ghosts of Atlantis in a two-fer review collective. June saw the Greek-mythology inspired melodeath group unleash a new one in the form of Ancient Sleeper, closing out a two-year gap of silence from the band in exchange for another five songs and near half-hour of music.

Tides Of Kharon‘s chosen release method feels a bit like checking in with the band as they forge and hammer new material, working on their sound and experimenting with the wide vareity of approaches that the genre has available to them. Both expert and continual student, Tides Of Kharon absorb into their sound as much as they issue forth, all in service of the particular tales they have chosen to craft a song around this time. Ancient Sleeper then, could be considered the newest check-in with the band. Continue reading »

STRANGE TRIPS (PART 2): GHOSTS OF ATLANTIS (“3.6.2.4”) AND TIDES OF KHARON (“TITANOMACHY”)

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  2 Responses »
Apr 222021
 

 

(DGR has been spending his listening time with some strange musical creatures and has offered his thoughts about them in a two-part collection of reviews, of which this is the second. Go here to check out Part 1.)

GHOSTS OF ATLANTIS: 3.6.2.4

At this point in my metal fandom I think its safe to admit that there will always be room in my heart for something a little more theatrical when it comes to music. I’m a sucker for things appearing larger than life, buried in bombast, and suffocated by symphonics. If you’re incredibly ambitious and it seems like you may be swinging for the fences on even your first release and coming off just a little bit campier than expected, then you’ll probably have someone who enjoys what you’ve got right here.

Of course all those things don’t necessarily have to apply, so they can be larger than life without having the veneer of a B-grade horror movie, but sometimes the stars align just so that I can’t help but be attracted to it. Like I said, a larger-than-life spectacle can often be just as interesting for me in the world of the extreme, which is how I landed at the debut album from Ghosts of Atlantis. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: TIDES OF KHARON — “COINS UPON OUR EYES”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 122017
 

 

And we have another winner! Another wickedly rendered and eye-catching piece of cover art (this time by Indonesian graphic artist Dann Perdana) luring us into the sounds of new metal, like the creepy guy on the edge of the playground with an unhealthy hunger in his eyes, offering candy to the kids. Or something like that. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor I could have picked.

Anyway, I really like the cover art. I really like the song we’re premiering, too. It’s the title track to Coins Upon Our Eyes, the debut EP by a melodic death metal band from Edmonton, Alberta, named Tides of Kharon, which will be released on July 21st.

As the EP’s title might suggest to you, if you’re familiar with tales of the boatman on the river Styx who ferries the dead to the underworld, the songs all draw upon themes from ancient Greek mythology, including (in the band’s words) “the rape of Medusa, Orpheus’ quest to bring back his dead wife, and an unending battle involving the sons of the god of war, Ares”. And so, in addition to the appeal of the EP’s cover art, Coins Upon Our Eyes is also lyrically interesting.

Here’s an excerpt from the lyrics to the title track you’re about to hear: Continue reading »