Keep of Kalessin is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim. In 2006, he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada. They toured with Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus was released on 6 June 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen in the metal category in 2008.
Contents
History
Keep of Kalessin is well known for their melodic sound and virtuosic playing ability, while still maintaining a level of harshness that one traditionally expects from black metal bands. In contrast to traditional Norwegian black metal, Keep of Kalessin also makes use of other instruments like the piano, keyboards and synthesizers. They started experimenting with a new sound which gave Keep of Kalessin its new character after Obsidian C. recruited the new band members Thebon, Wizziac and Vyl for their album Armada in 2006, the follow-up after the Reclaim EP in 2003. Before Reclaim, the band had a much darker and colder character because of the different line-up they had earlier in their career. The line-up split in 2000, though Obsidian C. still wanted to make something of the band and the split-up was not the end of the band yet. He wanted to give Keep of Kalessin a unique character and develop its music, and improve himself too as a musician and lyrics writer, but the band still needed a drummer who could keep up with his riffing and he was unable find one in Trondheim. After nearly 3 years, the band Satyricon was in the need of a guitarist and Obsidian C. participated in the auditions and "played the ass off" some other 30 guitarists who also had applied for the job. He made it to the band and came in contact with Satyricon's drummer Frost.
Obsidian C. did not give up on Keep of Kalessin and as soon as Frost heard its material, without hesitation, he immediately said yes when Obsidian C. asked him to do the drumming on his new EP. As the band's new guitarist, Obsidian C. also toured with the band and this made it possible to recruit Attila Csihar for his EP to do the vocals. This new line-up recorded Keep of Kalessin's new EP Reclaim and skyrocketed the band into the elite black metal scene of Norway. But the line-up did not last and fell apart because of the distances between the band members. Still, this would not stop Obsidian C. and he was increasingly determined to bring Keep of Kalessin to the masses. As part of Satyricon he toured a lot with the band and understood that touring is a must to promote a band. Not much later he teamed up again with Vyl, who was a part of the band before the breakup in 2000. Now the band still needed a vocalist and preferably a bassist as well. This is when Thebon (vocals) and Wizziac (bass guitar) became part of the band.
Together with Torstein Parelius – the lyric writer from their EP Reclaim – the new line-up spent 2 years preparing to record their next album entitled Armada. This elevated the band to a higher place in the elite black metal scene of Norway and the band finally had a line-up which could last and made the band even more promising than before.
Musical style and legacy
According to Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic, "Keep of Kalessin are a pioneering force in extreme metal, helping to define the metal subgenre with their fusion of stunning technical playing with an intensity at the same level as black metal's more powerful acts."
Band members
Current members
Arnt "Obsidian C." Grønbech – guitars, keyboards (1995–2000, 2003–present), lead vocals (2013–present), bass (1995, 2003–2005)
Robin "Wizziac" Isaksen – bass (2005–present)
Wanja "Nechtan" Gröger – drums (2019–present)
Live members
Roger Isaksen - guitars (2019–present)
Former members
Øyvind A. "Warach" Winther – bass (1995–2000)
Vegar "Vyl" Larsen – drums (1995–2000, 2004–2016)
Torbjørn "Thebon" Schei – vocals (2004–2013)
Magnus "Ghâsh" Hjertaas – vocals (1995–2000)
Attila Csihar – vocals (2003–2004)
Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad – drums (2003–2004)
Oli Beaudoin – drums (session member, 2011)
Discography
Studio releases
Through Times of War (1997)
Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark (1999)
Armada (2006)
Kolossus (2008)
Reptilian (2010)
Epistemology (2015)
Katharsis (2023)
Extended plays
Reclaim (2003)
Introspection (2013)
Heaven of Sin (2016)
Demos
Skygger av Sorg (1996)