8-panel digipack CD with silver print and renewed layout and bonus tracks.
Kawir is definitely one of the most interesting black metal bands that I have discovered over the years. Not only was this Greek outfit one of the prime originators from within the extreme metal scene in their country, but they have always had their own continuously evolving style that contains a distinctly Mediterranean atmosphere. This is most notably so with albums such as “To Cavirs” and “Arai” which were awe-inspiring slabs of “pagan” oriented black metal. As for their 1999 effort “Epoptia”, it easily sounds just as distinctive as the band’s other works, but it terms of overall quality, it is not quite up to par.
It is not hard to see that the most obvious issue here would have to be the less than stellar vocal performance offered by Diavelgenus. While most poor black metal vocalists have the problem of lacking originality and passion, this guy is actually quite the opposite. In fact, I would consider him to be one of the most unique vocalists I have ever heard, period; it’s really just the simple fact that he sounds considerably irritating. I am not sure if I can even describe the way he sounds, maybe somewhere between a stoned Donald Duck and a constipated Yoda, but I do know for certain that it doesn’t work, and his gargles do indeed get quite annoying at times. This is especially the case towards the end of the track “Gaia” where his “gerbil on steroids” vocals significantly get in the way of the music.
Still, Diavelgenus’s messy slip-ups are only offensive at certain times, so they are something that I can actually look over, as it’s essentially the overall performance of the rest of the band that dissatisfies me the most. I am specifically bothered by how repetitive this album is. The same chords just get played too damn frequently. Yes, I know this is black metal here, but while certain obvious bands use this as an advantage through the building of a certain atmosphere, here it does nothing but bore the listener with inanity, and is really nothing more than compositional laziness. The production is also significantly unimpressive, as it is just too thin, and it lacks the “meat” that any good Metal album needs, particularly with the rather flat “papery” sounding drum recording.
However, this is not to say that the band didn’t do a considerably adequate job, though. Therthonax, as usual, comes up with some highly solid riff-work (even if its repeated more than it should) and Erichtonios’s folky, fantasy-like keyboards flow fluently along with the guitars and the pleasantly audible bass lines very nicely. Not only that, a number of the songs manage with powerful climaxes as well, especially with the epic piece “Korivantes” which stirs ones imagination by bringing to mind numerous Hellenic landscapes. It really just needs to be noted that these songs cannot measure up to a significantly higher rating with all problematic baggage they carry.
With everything all said and done, this is a notably worthy album with a strong atmosphere, and some highly memorable compositions as a score of seventy percent from me is well above average. Also, the two excellent bonus tracks featured on the re-issue of this album are solid enough to raise the score into the eighties, as they not only do not contain any of the flaws that plagued this album, but they are actually some of the most gripping, distinctive pieces this group has ever written. They contain virtually all of the band’s usual highlights, and are absolute must-listens. So with all that in mind, this release is technically quite an essential purchase, even if you’re not the biggest Kawir fan.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=l3MjIlzb20c
