Loipe - KΛTΛBΛTIKOS (2018) Album Review
Recorded live and mixed by Loipe and mastered by Christian Weber.
Release date: 22nd December 2017
For fans of: Instrumental and doom metal.
Best activity when listening: A long snowy drive in a scenic area.
Check out their Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram:
https://loipe.bandcamp.com
https://m.facebook.com/WirSindLoipe
https://www.instagram.com/loipe.official/
Track List:
1.Sumpfgethym
2.Katabatikos
3.Olegk
4.Herrendorfer
I quite enjoyed this album, it's loud and crushing in parts and at times ambient and melodic. It feels like a long 41 minute song as the 4 tracks all blend seamlessly together, when I first listened to it I thought it lacked vocals, but after listening to it a few more times, vocals wouldn't be ideal because of the long instrumental sections.
I would describe this album as Glacial, it would be great to listen to whilst on a long snowy drive, in a scenic area with winding roads. This album was recorded live, which makes it more interesting to me as you can really feel the chemistry between the band members, especially during the parts of syncopation. The guitars are amazing, one moment they're playing a quiet and melodic piece, the next moment they build a massive wall of sound, accompanied by the driving bass line. The drums play an important role, especially in the buildup, creating that musical tension and sense of something about to explode. The mixing is done well, it sounds balanced and none of the instruments sound drowned out or forgotten, the guitars are very versatile, sometimes there belting out huge Riffs and at other points in the album providing a sound scape whilst the bass carries the melodies. The drums also come across well and help build the tension, carry the rhythm and emphasis some of the Riffs.
The album opens with guitar distortion and feedback in the company of cymbals, which lead to a huge, ominous riff that loops, each time pulling me deeper and deeper into the atmospheric wall of sound created. The music moves at a glacial pace but it works perfectly for their cold and crushing sound. The syncopating instruments add more power to the melody until around 6:35, where a more melodic passage, brings an interesting change of tempo to the song and totally changes the vibe of the song, however it grinds back down to ice cap like pace before entering a quiet section. This preludes a mammothian sized riff, which still has the faint guitar in the background which adds to the atmosphere. I like the mix of tempos, it keeps the listener engaged and interested, whilst showing good musicianship, as it can be all too easy to get into a rhythm and stick with it. The first track "Sumpfgethym" nearly 14 minutes but it distorts your sense of time, making it feel like half the time.
The opener transitions seamlessly into the title track "Katabatikos" , which has introducing riff that is then combined with a bellowing riff, which followed by a post-metal inspired section with a jarring time-signature. It is a bit short lived, however it returns after a short and quiet change of tempo. The tempo and texture flirt between loud and heavy to soft and quiet until around 19:15 of the album, the song takes a scathing turn, where the guitars create the atmosphere and sound scape, the bass drives the melody and the drums hold the melody during this section This song has a clear influence from the mighty Pelican.
The third song "Olegk" has a brief banjo melody which fades out to a brooding ambience under a grooving bass line, with the drums building tension, soon the guitars join in then, it climaxes into a full blown riff that is far too short lived. The suspense is built up again after the change of pace and reincarnates the short lived riff. The texture and tempo is switched up a few times until around 26:35 into the album a chunky riff materialises before entering another quiet passage. The rest of the song consists of steadily building and quitening sections before fading into the final song "Herrondorfer".
The last song on this album "Herrondorfer" is my highlightoof the album, it opens with a memorable riff before entering a slow, crushing section that preludes a surprisingly pretty section with a smooth melody and clean guitars with a relaxing ambient vibe around 35 minutes deep in the album. It doesn't last forever as the drums progressively pound the skins harder, culminating in a mammothian riff that trampled it and leads to uncontrollable head banging. The song takes a turn and devolves into a very nasty riff that is heavy enough to make the walls vibrate. It is followed by a very catchy uptempo riff that quickly gives way to the nasty riff this time returning fiercer than before. This section is followed by an atmospheric section that Finishes the album.
Over all I would give this album an 8/10. I would like the heavy, crushing parts to last longer, also I'm not always in the mood for instrumental music. However I quite enjoyed this album, and it will be my go to instrumental piece especially on cold days like today, it flows so well together it feels like one song and not four. The songwriting in this album is great and has a sound which works perfectly with it.
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