Invoking the name of the daimonian embodiment of warfare noise Athens, Greece-borne pagan black metal legendry KAWIR return as a sextet for a ten-chaptered and nigh ~hourlong tome writ for the sake of musing upon ancient battlefields, thrilling over the details of heroic epics, and taking stock of all souls fallen to the fray. A ninth full-length album from a well-proven, adaptive entity unafraid of fluxion ‘Kydoimos‘ is among the most ambitious and tonally rich works from the now three-decade strong artist as they enter the next stage of their ascension. The challenge of a work presented by a band with such a vast exploration behind them is containment, where and how to hone the spiritus of an explorer of cultural mythos into one representative chapter, yet we find this latest hydria happily overflowing with its inspiration first in embodiment of escalating fracas and then in a multi-part narrative of heroic mythos. In the process their banner is flown for a successful campaign, demonstrating might within a feat which naturally reinforces and builds upon their greater legacy.

Kawir formed circa 1993 under the vision of Mentor (later known as Therthonax) circa 1993 beyond his time in late 80’s death metal band Nocturnal Death, initially collaborating with folks from Varathron and Agatus to realize his own vision of black metal to start. In fact to know the history of this band is to know a long list of collaborations most all of which produced some compelling addition to their legend throughout the 90’s, these are worth exploring in detail on your own time. While many of their peers fixated in one place most saw this group as adventurous, arcane yet ever-shifting ’til elements of ancient folk music began to build a reputation and interest in the pagan/black metal realm. In terms of visual presentation ‘Kydoimos‘ should (at face value) recall a certain era of the band wherein ‘Ophiolatreia‘ (2008) and ‘To Uranus‘ (2010) helped to further define their sound away from the 90’s which’d coincided with the lasting inspirational works from bands like Nocternity, Macabre Omen and Agatus that decade. I highly encourage doing your own research through the first fifteen years of the band’s life as the precedence is important in approaching the phase of mastery-of-self and spiritual representation which arrived most notably soon after.

The 2010’s were a creative mountain built by Kawir between four inspired and defining full-lengths. My interest beyond familiarity with their 90’s canon arrived with everlasting favorite ‘Isotheos‘ (2012) providing a marker to expand beyond from that point. In terms of what I’ve covered with extensive notes since then we can look to the scraping, aggressive stabbing of ‘Exilasmos‘ (2017) and the dramatic folken grounding-crash of ‘Adrasteia‘ (2020) two of three albums co-written with Melanaegis (Gungnir, ex-Lykaionas) the latter of which I’d rated as high as possible and set at #8 on my Top 100 Albums of 2020. For my own taste the mid-paced ‘epic’ side of their oeuvre has typically been the focal profundity of their work in terms of what’d stuck in mind long-term, though most all of their releases do well to blend the harass of black metal with the resonant loft available otherwise. ‘Kydoimos‘ kind of splits the difference between formae at face value wherein the pacing is brutally whipped for most of its ~53 minute roll-through but not entirely dominated by aggression.

Black metal does not, or, should not inherently thirst for balance and a “fair” split of forms as an ideal but rather seek to use all capabilities for the sake of presentation which runs the gamut of the ‘soul’ generated. With this personal idyll in mind ‘Kydoimos‘ excels at using the skills of its current line-up to best present an ambitious yet contained set of ~4-6 minute black metal songs. Though the entire line-up of the band has been reset with the exception of maestro Porphyrion (Cult of Eibon) remaining on vocals and of course Therthonax guiding the ship the wizened, melodious voice of the band as a whole finds quick agreement once more. Drummer Agisilaos is placed prominently here as a loud and commanding blast behind this album and primarily for the sake of the force-forward production values applied to ‘Kydoimos‘ giving his barrage a front and center placement, this’d probably been the biggest challenge for me as I’d prefer a more subtle sense of space but here he must act as an anchor for their efforts. The same could be said for the prominent keyboards from Dis Pater (Midnight Odyssey) which are inarguably the biggest addition to the overall personae of the band, a new sound which brings to mind the best of Ancient Rites (see: “Teiresias”) and even a bit of Falkenbach (“Hecatonchires“) in terms of sounds deployed and melodic treatments finding unique variation. These choices all fit under the umbrella of Kawir, though they serve a decidedly different effect than the exacting focus of their three prior LPs.

Dropping a bronzed set of balls on the altar. — If you’d not read between the lines thus far ‘Kydoimos‘ rallies behind most of its length with vigorous ardor, punishing percussion beneath over the top keyboards in support of heroically stated melody-driven black metal with a folken waft scaling through. The first half of the album bears plenty enough nuance beneath but this version of Kawir is not so cryptic, and overall does not appear obsessed with creating a “brand” out of old achievements and reputations and instead injects volatile energy into this theme of ancient warfare. The grand-standing blare of opener “Teiresias” and the adrenaline sped melodic black metal of “Fields of Flegra” offer the first point of integration of Dis Pater‘s atmospheric gifts, winning me over with the glowing arc of its major movements which are sure to appeal to any devout fan of the Hellenic style of black metal and its greater evolution beyond the early 90’s. In this sense they’ve opened the gates to their own distinct melodic style as it continues to manifest in patiently stated arc throughout the full listen, a far more “musical” endeavor than one might realize if focused on the wrist-cracking pummel of the drums up front. “Hecatonchires” is the embodiment of all of these traits at their most effective cohesion and purposeful application, a clear highlight for Side A.

The triumph and death of Achilles introduces the second half of the album with “Achilles & Hector” plus “Achilles Funeral” allowing for two different song types lacking from the first half, launching past the faster-ripping “Myrmidons” with the attack of the first piece and the prolonged oration of the second. This is probably the most straight forward portion of the full listen and most related to the tone of ‘Adrasteia‘ from my point of view. With lead single “Echetleaus” (and the title track for that matter) we return to the keys-driven bombast that’d introduced the album which necessarily finishes the job of rounding out the experience into two separate but equal halves; The flow of the full listen straight through is not interrupted at this point in the running order, and this is not an actual complaint, but the two songs which introduce the second half could’ve been excised and treated as a separate 7″ and left the listener with an entirely focused full listen at ~42 minutes in length. Granted the complete vision of the album and the theme attached are well served by all included pieces.

From the perspective of a longtime fan, and coming off of one of their best albums to date, this ninth Kawir album is steeling for its treatment of idealized distinction. That is to say that ‘Kydoimos‘ squarely states the defining features of the band’s legacy while building upon it with some new voice and vigor applied. Substantial in its construct, but also a bit quicker moving on its feet this version of the band is easily approached but never feels like pandering craft, presenting a freshened current that is worthy of the name but never outwardly reliant upon its recognition. Much in the way that Varathron brought a big, vibrant personality to their latest release so does this effort refuse defeat despite the common adversity of the times. As such I’d found it inspired and of course well worthy of countless repeat listens. A high recommendation.

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