Chuck Schuldiner Project

Monday, March 16, 2015

Kjeld - Skym


Trudging, powerful, and occasionally impenetrable, Kjeld have managed to produce something terrifying, yet also rather meditative with their new record Skym. The kind of album that speaks to a core that is much darker and in many ways more hopeless than that which came before, Kjeld seem to give the listener a greater awareness of their own strength. Though black metal is very much a dark art form and one cast aside by God, Kjeld manage to inspire and empower, speaking to the greater power of the genre.

Every song on Skym seems to have a specific function, there is no filler, you simply fall deeper under the eldritch spells that define Kjelds sound. One thing that especially impresses me with this record is the sense of impending doom. Despite the high speed drum attack and blazing guitars that dominate the record, Kjeld are not afraid to scale it back every now and then, as they do on the outtro of Us Grun to force upon the listener an awareness not just of their own morality but also the triumphant, yet terrible power that death has over all of us. There is a sense of fate that guides the hand of this record and will leave you at times shaking with fear.

Kjeld have managed to produce an impressive artistic statement with Skym the kind of thing that demonstrates the otherworldly power of black metal. As I sit here, curled up in some corner of a trai driving me across southeastern Pennsylvania I look out the windows and see a strange new layer of suburbia opening up before me. Kjeld understand that this reality is in many ways superficiial and if you look beyond with screeching vocals and terror stricken guitar lines you can just about make out something greater than your wildest dreams.

Find them on Facebook!

No comments:

Post a Comment