Children of the Void

Oh boy, I've been waiting for this one. Karkaos were probably the first underground band that I discovered, and I fell in love with their stuff almost instantly. Empire was one hell of a strong debut, and with the departure of vocalist Veronica Ortiz Rodriguez I wasn't sure how this album would turn out. But I stuck around long enough to find out, and let me tell you, it was worth hanging around for.

Since the part of the band I was most uncertain of prior to the album's release was the vocals, I think it's reasonable to start there. Truth be told, the first time I heard Viky Boyer on a re-recording of 'Leap of Faith' I wasn't overly impressed. The way that the song was written suited Veronica's gritty cleans better than Viky's more angelic singing, and the growls she provided were quite simply not on Veronica's level. However, in the two and a half years since then she's improved a lot when it comes to harsh vocals, to the point where her past performance is barely recognisable as being the same person. The power she displays is frightening, and often I'm left questioning whether it's actually one of her male bandmates doing the growls. That is, until there are actually male growls on tracks like 'Kolossos', where it becomes obvious that she is indeed the one doing the majority of the vicious harsh vocals. It doesn't stop there either, as her cleans have become a lot more rounded and she proves to be capable of singing in many different styles. Truth be told she possesses a larger arsenal than Veronica ever did. Whether she's better as a whole is another matter - one which I myself am not quite decided on - but she performs well on Children of the Void and I'm happy to say she's proved her doubters (or at least myself) wrong.

As it turns out, Viky isn't the only new member of the band for this album. Previous drummer Normand Martel has been replaced with Justine Ethier, which is quite saddening as I loved what Normand did on Empire. Justine is solid, there's no doubt about that, but I notice her work far less than the spectacular stuff Normand provided. Maybe being less flashy isn't a bad thing, but it does feel a little like we're missing that extra kick that the drumming provided to bring the whole calibre of Empire up a notch. The production I think is partly to blame, as the drumming isn't as noticeable this time around. Part of this seems to be due to the increased presence of the keyboards in the background, with some kind of orchestral effect that tends to mask the drums. The guitars also wash over the drums with far more ease on Children of the Void. And really I don't mind that all that much, because the guitars are the part of the band that are most spectacular. Sure, Viky sings her lungs out for a lot of this record, Justine doesn't do a thing wrong and as a general rule the keyboards enhance more than they detract, but it's the intense leads of Vincent and Samael that brings this album from great to spectacular. They work well in conjunction with the keyboard to create an epic feeling throughout the album, with plenty of subtle melodies and intense riffs, but it's the solos where they really take off. In almost every song they manage to do something magical that guarantees you'll come back again. Take 'Kolossos', which is a fine track up until that point, but really cements its place in my Spotify playlist with the stunning guitar solo. How two guys can convey such emotion with a couple of guitars is beyond me, but it is enthralling. Perhaps some songs could do with them featuring more often, as the title-track shows just how good the end result of this can be, but without doubt they are the best part of this album.

The only thing that might be off-putting to some potential listeners is that this album as a whole is mellower than the last. I would put this down at least in part to the music being matched to the cleaner, sweeter vocals, thus resulting in a lighter and more melodic approach from the rest of the band. If you can jump over that hurdle then you'll find a lot to like on Children of the Void, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes their melodeath to be epic, catchy and super melodic.