Utterly unique, there is a craft at work with Arizona Metal band Kardashev that takes the ethereal and juxtaposes it with the crushingly heavy that is truly breathtaking.
Kardashev: The Baring of Shadows (Metal Blade Records)
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Classing themselves as Progressive Death Metal, it could be said that this doesn’t even start to cover it. Angelic vocals transmute to ones from the darkest bowels of the Earth as delicate melodies get ground to dust by blistering shredding and drums and bass that could flatten cities.
It’s all mind warpingly wonderful and each of the tracks, ‘A Frame. A Light’, ‘Snow-Sleep’, ‘Torchpassing’ and ‘Heartache’, a rollercoaster ride that both physically and emotionally bruise.
The four are presented both in vocal and instrumental versions, so you can pick which you prefer. However, the contrast between the vocals and the additional sonic hues it brings gives it the edge over the slightly more stripped versions.
A journey well worth taking, ‘The Baring of Shadows’ is a truly extraordinary piece of work and one that will stay with you for a very long time to come.