Kailash - Past Changing Fast

The Ocean of Dreams, Floating.

Kailash is a progressive black metal band from Italy. Only 3 members comprise this band, Marco Basilli performs the basis of most of the instrumentation with guitars, bass, and back-up vocals, Andrea Basilli is the drummer, while Gabriel Vittori performs as the vocalist. Though there are vocalists, there is no vocal use on this album, being completely instrumental.

The sound of this record is very different sounding, being more based in the sound of jazz and post-metal. With more subdued guitars that slide in and out of jazz licks while maintaining a strong atmosphere. This album does break the mold sometimes by breaking into a more tremolo picked black metal-ish part where double-bass drumming is used for adding extra intensity.

The opening songs, Winter Glimpse and Past Changing Fast, both give the jazz and post-metal vibe with a more groove-based sound and melodic riffs that border into the jazz-fusion realm more than metal. While Winter Glimpse takes more of the "post" feel, it does have a better connection into heavier sections. The title track focuses more on the melodic, almost post-fusion sound of sliding riffs into very odd chorus licks while the drums almost have a punk approach to the way their played.

The whole way to absorb this album is if your cup of tea is more in listening from an album from start to finish, completely through. Though you could easily take one or two tracks and listen to them, the whole album is what could get heads turning. The overall approach these guys have taken rather, than just one song, the whole album is an adventure.

It is the track Return to The Desert that explores a lot in terms of styles and a progressive approach. This track runs from more post-rock atmospheres to more metal stomps, while maintain a strong melody throughout the whole song. Most of the track has a very progressive rock feeling to it. This is where the band start to hit their stride on the album.

The whole album concludes with a cover of Ved Buens Ende's Remembrance of The Things Past. This, in contrast to the last "official" track on this album, Endless Night Sweet Delight, is very dark and almost morbid. Endless Night Sweet Delight features very melodic and clean tones that equal that of bands like Alcest in terms of melancholic mood and Cynic in terms of how the song is almost arranged. The cover in contrast is dark sounding and builds a lot more than any other track on this album, accumulating into the black metal trademark sound of distorted tremolo picked riffs before breaking it all down into melodic clean tones and back again. Overall, this album is a very cool type of progressive metal that hasn't been explored yet. Fans from the spectrum of Isis to Cynic to Opeth could all dig this album equally and find something in it they like. Though unknown right now, people should watch for what this band does next.

Overall Score: 8

Highlights: Past Changing Fast, Return to The Desert, Nested Thoughts, Endless Night Sweet Delight