Finding the Truth: An Era of Nothingness

Although a fairly new BM quartet, formed in Bandung, western Java, in 2019, and with one member having experience playing in other metal bands as far as I can tell, Khalasirna pulls off a coup in this strong debut "Finding the Truth: An Era of Nothingness". It's a confident work of aggressive melodic atmospheric BM with good sound and top-notch production: harsh dissonant guitar chords and rugged riffs, savage demon vocals and a dark, almost cavernous atmospheric backdrop combine to deliver seven meaty songs of anger, disillusionment and despair. Khalasirna's core style is brutal BM that includes elements from death metal, post-BM, epic symphonic BM and dark ambient: quite a lot for a new band to tackle on a first release, and a full-length album release at that!

Each song packs in a lot of music - fast, slow and in-between - and atmosphere, mood, genre bits and pieces, and vocals that range from shouting to sneering and back, so on the first few listens the songs may not sound all that different. Early tracks are very aggressive but also feature accessible lead guitar melodies and quieter, steadier post-BM moments. By the time we reach "Dogma", the fourth track, we are ready for a brutal epic track that includes passages of dark ambient introspection in amongst the hard-hitting percussion, the blast beats, the snarls and shrill tremolo guitar chords.

The three songs coming after "Dogma" keep the early fire and anger burning though they also find room for more hard-hitting confrontation ("Forever of Nothing") or majestic symphonic / choral grandeur ("Path of Tragedy"). Not only are these songs longer than the songs in the album's first half but they seem much grander in scale, depth and vision. By the time the album ends, listeners can feel as though they've gone through an emotional / existential hell and back with each and every one of these songs, starting with "Dogma".

It's worthwhile for folks to let this album wash over their heads the first couple of times and then acquaint themselves with individual tracks that take their fancy. There's a lot to absorb in most songs and maybe the Khalasirna musicians are cramming too much in on a first album in order to impress and gain a steady audience. At least the music flows well and the band's energy level and technical skills are consistent from start to finish. The quiet, brooding moments of dark ambient and acoustic guitar melody are well integrated in the songs, the transition from fast and loud to quiet and slow and back again is not too abrupt or awkward. If there's one thing to criticise about the band's style, it is that the vocals don't really do justice to the music, being either shouty or snarling, and not doing much else under a heavy cover of distortion.

"Finding the Truth ..." sounds like the work of a band with a few albums behind it so for this to be Khalasirna's debut album says much about the musicians' willingness to take risks and to put everything they have and more into each and every song. Somehow they manage not to fall into sheer epic bombast which they could have done especially on "Path of Tragedy". By sticking to a minimal instrumental approach, the band creates an impression of a rich and quite complex sonic universe with atmospheric depth. The only problem I can see is that most people won over by "Finding the Truth ..." will expect the same or even greater things from the band on the next album. These guys have set a high standard for themselves to meet on future recordings.