Kal-El – Dark Majesty (Review)

This is the fifth album from Norwegian doom/stoner metal band Kal-El.

This album came highly recommended from a few different sources, so I thought it was high time I checked it out. I have not been disappointed.

Dark Majesty contains 65 minutes of Grade A music. It combines elements of doom and stoner metal with traces of hard and blues rock, to produce eight sterling and moreish tracks.

The songs are well-written and full of fuzzed-out delights. Kal-El trade in big riffs and equally big hooks. The singing is melodic and catchy. The singer knows his style well, and his voice walks the fine line between recalling certain genre greats, while, thankfully, not aping them too closely, with ease; his own personality and charisma has its own ample presence. In fact, exactly the same description could be used for the music overall; Kal-El may recall many other bands across their album, but ultimately the band are their own entity.

The music and the evocative free-flowing vocals collude to create emotive songs that are full of rich emotion. It is easy to get lost in Kal-El’s textured doomscapes, and right that you do so; these songs are really very, very good, and deserve much attention. Their hypnotic grooves and psychedelic depths are as enticing as they are effective and rewarding.

So, I’m very glad that this album was pointed out to me, and I fully agree that it’s a damn fine record. If you have a taste for the style and want something distinctly above average, then Dark Majesty is for you.

Don’t miss out.