Keep of Kalessin

Keep of Kalessin are a Blackened Death Metal band that spawned back in 1994, under the name Ildskjaer, by the hand of Ghâsh and Obsidian C., later joined by Vyl and Warach. The band's violent yet dark and epic black metal - as well as the somewhat mysterious monicker and lyrics - are inspired by the work of American fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Farthest Shore". With this concept in mind, the guys recorded the first demo "Skygger Av Sorg" in the Fall of 1996, though several problems in finding a proper rehearsal room made this task rather difficult. As a matter of fact, the lack of practice resulted in an untight performance on tape and a consequent limited distribution for it. Only ten labels and magazines received it but the response was surprisingly positive, gracing the band with a contract from Italy's Avantgarde Music.

The debut album "Through Times Of War" was recorded in Summer 1997 in Brygga Studios, Trondheim, Norway, and presented the band with a crystal-clear yet heavy production on some ear-blasting music which has been often compared to Mayhem's opus "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas". A couple of years later, after some pretty successful gigs played around Norway together with Bloodthorn, the quartet returned with "Agnen: A Journey Through The Dark", again recorded in the much-appreciated Brygga Studio. With this second album the band actually distanced themselves from the now-trendy Norwegian black metal style, picking up influences from the thrash metal and death metal genres, thus establishing a rather more Swedish-oriented sound. But the guys did not forget their roots and therefore they took part in the much anticipated Mayhem tribute album released by Avantgarde Music itself. Their superb interpretation of "Buried By Time And Dust" put them right up there with the likes of Emperor, Gorgoroth and Dark Funeral - just to name a few of the top-class bands that also appeared on this ambitious project.

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