Thy Kingly Mask

As the German black metal scene is rising and presenting a lot of new talented black metal bands, many solid releases are shaking the ground of the global black metal scene with toughness and strength, the atmospheric black metal act "Kvlt Of Hiob" is one of these skillful groups that preset a lot of efforts to the global black metal movement. The debut album "Thy Kingly Mask" is really a special album full of creative black metal touches and a lot of influences, get ready to discover this record.

Only two guys here are making all of this noise, "Deathkvlt Prayer" performed all the instruments and did the songwriting of the tracks, and "Human Antithesis" recorded all the vocals and wrote all the lyrics, this team worked together very hard to produce such an individual atmosphere. I couldn't find any band in my head to compare it with this amazing team, because the weird and the spiritual violent sound that they created in this record is really different than all the black metal bands that I've heard before, this gives a lot of bonus rating to this band and makes this record special.

The shouts and the screams of the vocalist sink inside the sound of the percussions, many atmospheric lead guitar sections also joined the songwriting in this record to make the whole structure sound more ghostly and unworldly, and actually I guess the band did this in a wonderful way. The first track "The Lord's Prayer" began with a torturous samples and screams, then the skillful drumming leaded gloomy rhythm guitars till the end of the tracks, when the second track began its hellish melodies with a small clean guitar section, I realized that atmosphere that the band is trying to create is too superb, because we can hear another clean guitar section behind the grim structure of the track and behind the infernal vocals. The first track wasn't the only track that began the riffing with some samples and drumming, because the track "Sacrament" followed the same pattern of the first track, and it followed the same clean guitar pattern of the second track too, the insanity of the vocals in this track reminded me of "Mortuus" from the Swedish black metal bands Marduk and Funeral Mist.

The ambient sound captures the introduction of the track "Procession of the Burning Eyes" before the hellish black metal riffs join the sound alongside the sharp edges of the drums, the ambient sound returns in the middle of the track to make this song a real exceptional atmospheric ambient\black metal track. When the track "Abominations of the Earth" started its deep lead guitar melodies, somehow I remembered the unholy dusty sound that the American black metal band "Xasthur" makes, the shouting vocals get lost inside the track and the echoes coil around the firm sound of the guitars. The track "Theos" is not different than the previous track of this record, but it has a lot of speed riffs and guitar progressions, the same thing is applied on the last track "The Beholder", this one embraces a lot of atmospheric melodies behind the sound of the black metal riffs, the drumming is alternating in this track very much, sometimes the blast-beats dominate the whole sound, but sometimes the slow drumming gets alive suddenly.

If you are tired of the standard sound that the black metal bands are always making, then I guess its the time for you to try something fresh and new, and here I am presenting you this fantastic band and this admirable release. Many atmospheric black metal bands around the world have successful records out there, and for my personal point of view, I consider "Thy Kingly Mask" one of these successful releases that deserves to be known. If you think its the time for your speakers to erupt some gloomy and unworldly atmospheric music, then its the time for you to play this CD.

Originally written for:
www.jorzine.com

As curtain rises, a priest orders a young woman to recite one "Our Father". From the first words uttered by the latter, he began to whip her mercilessly, until she passed out. Thus begins Thy Kingly Mask (2012), first album of a brand new German formation called Kvlt of Hiob. Inspired by the cruelty - even madness - of Christianity, the band (whose name itself recalls suffering inflicted by God, "Hiob" meaning "Job" in German) offers an album that shakes and disturbs because of its musical and and aesthetic choices. Very close in shape to orthodox black metal sub genre, Deathkvlt Prayer (instruments) and Human Antithesis (voice) do not hesitate to incorporate several avant-garde elements in their compositions, recalling - especially - Deathspell Omega, both for music and words.

Obtained result is very interesting. The Lords Prayer, with its violent introduction, sets the tone. The group piles up the riffs, backed by excellent drumming. The voice comes in several tracks, echoing each other, alternating between evil possessed screams and cries of pain. The black mass continues with Witches Wine, whose kinship with some older Blut Aus Nord titles is quite evident, especially in every transitions between slow and aggressive passages. With Sacrament, the band reveals another facet of its personality, by focusing this time on a scary atmosphere, where rapid and linear orchestration sometimes yields its place to lamentations and obscure incantations. This trend continues with The Monk, a short interlude which causes some surprise because of its partial French interpretation. Again, Procession of the Burning Eyes first minutes are rather experimental and rely on a confused atmosphere, before being let loose with a furious pace. New interlude, Ultima Tempestas illustrates torture administered to a screaming church victim, then Abominations of the Earth follows with a not really convincing mid-tempo air. Last full title, Theos repeats the formula already used on the first songs, crossing furious passages and declamatory moments. It all ends with a short epilogue and a bonus track called The Beholder, which would have deserved to end up earlier in the album.

This first disc Kvlt of Hiob is a pleasant surprise. Despite some imperfections (some laps, too many interludes), the entire work is interesting and suggests the best for this duo founded in 2010. An album to discover, with a whip in his right hand and a Bible in the left. 7/10

Originally written for Métal Obscur.