Hellenic black and death metal is something I've always been somewhat fascinated with. Certainly, everyone is familiar with Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh, but Kawir is worthy of attention as well. The band (whose name translates to "powerful") is one of those groups that I've wanted to hear for quite a while, but never really got around to it. What a mistake that was! The band name has always stuck in my head, I like their album covers, and i even like the monk-like robes they wear on stage, yet i ignored them. That was something I intended to remedy by purchasing Ophiolatreia.
Kawir is one of those bands who are well known in some circles, but completely unheard of in others. They definitely can't compare to the aforementioned countrymen, yet they've been releasing quality pagan black metal since 1993.
So what do they sound like? They can be described as a raw, yet melodic black metal band with touches of clean vocals, acoustic guitar, and keyboards. Don't let the idea of keys bother you! They don't distract from Kawir's menacing power. With a few exceptions (for example the midsection to "Poseidon") Kawir sticks to a mid paced tempo, sometimes kicking it into gear like in the fast paced "Ares (The God Of War).While the vocals, bass and drumming are all solid, the real stars of the album are Thertonax, who comes up with some great, memorable riffs, and Erichthonios whose keyboards play an important part of every song.
Its difficult to pick out the most outstanding tracks on this album of near perfection, but I'd have to pick "Ares" and the title track. Every single note, every sound is worthy of attention, and one will not get bored listening to "Ophiolatreia". The only bad thing I can point out is the production, it is neither clear nor lo-fi, more like stuck in the middle, sometimes sounding a bit muddy. Still, that is no reason not to pick up this opus, who, thanks to Those Opposed Records, has better distribution that any of their previous discs (at least here in the US)