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Review: Kasm - Lux Obscurata
Kasm
Lux Obscurata

Label: Northern Shadow
Year released: 2024
Duration: 38:26
Tracks: 5
Genre: Black Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: February 8, 2024
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.25/5 (85%) (4 Votes)
Review

Kasm hail from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and my first reaction upon seeing their location was that this was probably war metal since British Columbia and Alberta have historically been hotbeds for the genre. This is actually atmospheric black metal or, as the band calls it, "cosmic black metal." That's actually quite fitting. I liked this so much that I hadn't finished my second listen of the promo that I pre-ordered the cassette tape from the label.

Some atmospheric black metal albums can get kind of boring, either by being "too atmospheric" and forgetting the music or throwing in several minutes of acoustic crap. This is certainly not it. The black metal on offer is sometimes borderline brutal with some raw guitar work, sometimes much more melodic yet crushingly heavy—that's practically a constant here: the music pins you into place. The vocals are black metal screams—sometimes shrieky, sometimes more guttural—that are not too forward in the mix, just in for the ride with the instruments, which I find really helps put the omnipresent atmosphere front and centre, with the keyboards not too far away but taking precedence when the song calls for it. There's a feeling of despair, melancholy and darkness reverberating throughout and it's impossible not to be swept away by this atmosphere. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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