Featuring former Agalloch members Don Anderson on guitar, Jason Walton on bass and Aesop Dekker on drums alongside former Giant Squid guitarist / vocalist Aaron John Gregory the new band Khôrada is ready to rise with the intricate debut album “Salt” and the spontaneous desire to explore diverse music styles.
“Edeste” can often favor delicate shades of melancholy with comforting darkened instrumental passages and mystical atmospheric arrangements but there is a heavier enigmatic spirit that will inevitably demand attention with gritty riffing galore and scratchy vocals.
“Seasons Of Salt” might borrow the dismal strength of doom metal but doesn’t necessarily follow any particular composition rules and rather puts together refreshing yet extremely dark melodies with underlying mysterious vibes fueled by a shimmering dominant guitar work.
“Water Rights” can easily reach an atmospheric gloomy acme enhanced by dramatic vocals evoking obscure feelings that easily match the darkened melodic guitar progressions as well as the recurring more aggressive rhythmic intensity.
“Ossify” feels particularly ambitious with a taste for decadent atmospheres and surreal soundscapes but this time guitars focus greatly on an intriguing series of elegant kaleidoscopic melodic moments that seamlessly embrace theatrical tonalities or even restless faster rhythmic crescendos and become the indisputable highlight of this lengthy track.
Among new names to check out in the current underground metal scene this year Khôrada will certainly stand out with the challenging often uneasy sonic vision behind “Salt”, an album that will require multiple thorough listening sessions to embrace its inner adventurous soul and dramatic energy.