Artist: Kawir
Country: Greece
Label: Soulseller Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2024
Although we were already offered a sneak peak with the digital-only EP ‘War Of The Giants’ from 2022, mainly a fundraiser for the treatment of Kawir main man Therthonax who fell ill from Covid earlier, a new Kawir album is always embraced with love. With the severe conditions that Therthonax was in, it can be labelled a miracle that we are having this newest album in our hands already, so let’s not waste any time and dive into this band’s latest offering.
While the band has an undeniable Greek sound, as defined by a select group of native Black Metal bands during the early 90’s, Kawir has always retained a strong and fierce sound that can be typified by the pacy character of the music. It surely shares the same warm blooded Mediterranean overall sound and a distinct penchant for catchy folky melodies with their compatriots, yet Kawir still has their own trademarked ways to forge it into something recognizably unique.
Kawir’s talent to blend in true earworming melodies and the blueprint warm sound with their own brand of frantic Black Metal has over the course of the last few years been pushed into perfection. The unparalleled dynamics as already present on the last couple of records has been further expanded and consequently offering a dizzying listening experience. Listen to the extremely catchy ‘Φλεγρας πεδίον (Fields of Flegra)’ for instance, the truly entrancing melody that progresses into an almost hypnotic and soothing ending is only the least likely harbinger for the sonic explosion of its follow-up, the relentless ‘Κενταυρομαχία (Centauromachy)’. That particular transition is symbolic of how Kawir anno 2024 is riding the game, hurling you as a listener from one emotion into another and showing its most adventurous musical side.
Ironically, with this strategy, it also largely abandons the somewhat established tradition of Greek Black Metal. While all the elements are still omnipresent, by focusing more on these dynamics and placing an ever-increasing emphasis on the faster pieces, Kawir is also freeing itself increasingly from the yoke of the genre’s unwritten laws. At the same time, we are also still provided with a good portion of indigenous instrumentation, so a complete turnaround is certainly not the case. Instead it feels more like a natural and gradual shifting of the band’s core sound.
Although it is by no means a contest, of course, but with the amazing latest record of Varathron and this new Kawir album, it is clear that Rotting Christ has long since lost its role as a leading entity in Greek Black Metal, musically then, especially with the yet somewhat slapdash performance on their brand-new album. Anyway, ‘Κυδοιμός (Kydoimos)’ is another triumphant recording in the already impressive Kawir discography: a tremendous album that combines the beauty of melody with the harshness of sheer aggression. Kawir was and is a truly unique band that we have to cherish in all its diverse splendour.
