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Atmospherically charged, but a bit dull musically.-
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| Kalki Avatara: Mantra for the End of Times |
Experimental Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal
Self-released, Shaytan Productions (2009)
January 13th, 2008 / January 20th, 2009
- Mankind Collapses - 5:29
- Ruins of Kali-Yuga - 5:19
- Purification - 5:50
- Awaiting the Golden age - 4:19
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| Review Information |
Release length: 20:57
Review posted on July 9th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 6/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| EP(s): |
Mantra for the End of Times (2008) • Para Logon (2009)
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| Review |
Kalki Avatara is one of those underground acts that takes their art into a slightly different direction. Instead of following in the more prominant shadows of acts like Tyr and Amon Amarth, this one man act performs a mixture of Symphonic presences with a more Experimental Folk Metal style. The act first formed back in 2007, and comes from Rome, Italy. Since forming, Kalki Avatara has issued two EPs, with Mantra for the End of Times being the first of the two. Released back in 2008 as an independent effort, this four song EP eventually was picked up by Shaytan Productions for a proper release. But, does it really offer anything that spectacular for it to warrant such a reissue?
Mantra for the End of Times doesn't necessarily come off as the most engaging effort, and isn't necessarily just a one man project. The EP consists four songs with two session members to handle the bass guitar and drums, while Hell:I0:Kabbalus handles all the other instruments on the recording. The songs generally move at a slower pace then normal, and it's clear from this, as well as the guitar chords, that the idea for this effort was to set up an epic-sounding effort that seems to straddle the lines between a more Avante-Garde interpretation of Folk Metal, and a more Black Metal inspiration. Some tracks also feature some audio samples, such as "Ruins of Kali-Yuga" which has the sounds of something indiscernable, perhaps a man walking in armor, or something metallic like keys slamming against bars of a jail, all while a more melancholic piano performance goes off in the background to accompany it.
While these slower elements do make up a good chunk of the recording, it's the faster, heavier moments of the recording that stand out. Given the other bands linked to Hell:I0:Kabbalus, including the likes of Aborym, it comes to no surprise when the music picks up, it stands out well with a more Blackened feel, and just generally feels a bit unsettling, while still something that stands out in an appreciative sense that adds some richer material to the music. The slower orchestral background vocals that come off a bit more Classical inspired, and the varying more obvious Folk instrument performances work well to establish an atmosphere, but they seem to be a bit empty at times, and can even just come off a bit dull to the point where they can lull the listener closer to sleep until the music picks up and wakes them up a little bit from the experience. But, despite jumping between these varying approaches, which is something one could easily expect from any sort of "experimental" release, these jumps are often transitioned well, or just seem to work with the context of the album overall.
"Mankind Collapses" really doesn't do much for the EP, but the slower material does it's job well of establishing the atmosphere of the release. Between a more chaotic approach to the music's structuring and some passages, and the somewhat soothiung Folk sound, this effort braces the listener, but the more dull sounding material of the song just lacks anything that really grabs the listener. After this point, the EP starts to build up gradually and head more into the faster, heavier music for longer periods of time. But, in the same respect, so does the experimental factor at times. "Purification" has some additional keyboards that one would associate early black and white films that had music, whether by an actual piano player, or eventually when music could be played with the film. These additional sounds, coupled with some haunting gothic-like sounds from what sounds like a xyllaphone being played, lead to interesting compositions. Unfortunately none of that actually carries onto the next track, "Awaiting the Golden Age", and instead goes into more of a Droning, atmospheric track with Folk instruments and ritual-like harmonized chanting. It's nothing too spectacular for four minutes and nineteen seconds, and chances are good you won't give it much time after the first spin and the waiting you do during it for something to really kick in.
Mantra for the End of Times is not really a bad album, but it just feels a little too restrained at times to truly stand out. The EP is good for establishing, and often maintaining a solid, melancholic atmosphere from track to track, but often the music itself just is not all that great and in many ways can become boring or even drawn out. While the more experimental part of the music, and the additional of both classical and Folk related instruments work well with the atmosphere and keep some of the songs going, the actual tracks often sound bland, a little too open, or just don't really have anything much to grab the listener with. Of course the varying changes in the actual music being played does often lend to keeping the album less then predictable, aside the final track "Awaiting the Golden Age" of course. Overall, Kalki Avatara is a piece collectors, or general fans of the man behind the band monicker would probably enjoy a little more, but probably not by much. This debut offering from Kalki Avatara makes for a respectable one, but in the end just is not too engaging or memorable, but it most certainly has it's ups, and is far from being considered one of the more lacking Folk releases.
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