Ep: The Medleys
Artist: Black Kalmar Skull
Genre/s: Metal/Blackgaze/ Post-Rock/Ambient/Alternative Rock
Today’s ep of the day if from Italy’s Black Kalmar Skull, a solo-artist & multi-instrumentalist who blends genres and styles to produce a fusion of Metal, Post-Rock and a leady guitar US Alternative Rock Sound with a Shoegazy Ambience and off-worldly Electronica. The ep features two tracks, which will be reviewed in sequence. At the end of the review is a Bandcamp link to this ep.
On with the review!
As Stars In The Sky (The Journey): This track starts with medieval Lute-sounding guitar licks which have that ambience of the gentler side of Thrash metal of old. The guitar meanders and flourishes with smart changes. Then the guitar drops into a moodier rhythm, an edgy jangle, as probing bass and almost Slowcore drums roll in. There’s almost Post-Rock flavours here as a Slint-esque guitar jangs along, complemented with minimal lead guitar stabs. The ‘less is more’ approach with the 2nd guitar is really effective in helping to evoke atmosphere. Then the vocals come in, ethereal, like a gentle otherworldly Shoegaze singer’s delivery. The vocals convey a brooding mood, they’re both pretty and have an edge. The 2nd guitar erupts from it’s minimalism to an effects-laden solo, bouncing off the crashing cymbals and hammer of the drums. As the solo plays on, the vocals drift over the top, it all sounds great in the mix. Then the instrumentation slows down, maybe hinting at the moodily quieter times of Post-Rockers, Mogwai or evoking the spirit of Sadcore-player Gravenhurst. There’s a more metal sounding solo which fits nicely as grinding palm-muted power chords rumble in. A brighter, more forward-looking sounding solo weaves in and out of bass and the ever adapting and evolving drum patterns. The guitar goes into a more kinetic strumming sound, reminiscent of Shoegaze bands like Ride. It’s a glorious sounding guitar part, as the bass rises into prominence giving some nice fills and textures, almost Dub in nature, complementing the guitar perfectly. The guitars and rythmn section break, as Spacy synths play out the riff. More ambient and sun-drenched style guitar gently stabs back in, giving a lush counterpoint to the synths as a guitar solo starts to form and then decays.
Past Days/ Resonance/ Horizons of Haze: This track starts with a more dreamlike , sustaining Electronica sound. Guitars and bass gently wubber as a solid but simple drum pattern eases in. The understated nature of the instrumentation make this track calm and mellow, but with a slight sense of forbidding, like a hanging feeling of tension and anticipation. The tune drops into a solitary guitar, before the tension is released, with full band, complete with gnarly but controlled guitar. The release of this tension gives way to a more mellower passage and the synths are permitted to take more of a prominent role, there’s lots of fluidity and ideas with the synths as they wash in and out of the other instruments. Then a mighty, fuzzier guitar flows in, with tiny Metal nuances and quirks adding to the melting pot of creativity. Soundtrack-style key work rolls in the background, supplying this section with a sense of gravitas, it’s really memorable. To complement this, a fuzzy, leady guitar solo fires in, full of character, not unlike the quirky and passionate solo playing of J. Mascis from US Alternative Rock band, Dinosaur Jr. The solo continues rolling in a warm progression as it naturally fades and leaves the listener wanting more.
Below is the Bandcamp link to this ep. As always, if you haven’t heard this ep before, I hope you enjoy it! 😀
⭐️Listen to ‘The Medleys’ ep by Black Kalmar Skull: https://blackkalmarskull.bandcamp.com/album/the-medleys