Knights Of The Abyss

Ever since I heard “Dragon Pie” I have been a fan of Knights Of The Abyss, but after signing to Ferret Records many fans began to more closely judge KOTA particularly believing they would get softer… well listen to their new disc Shades and judge for yourself.

Compared to KOTA’s older material, they have really tightened their sound to a now, very technical, somewhat melodic, deathcore style… minus the obvious “oh no here comes the breakdown” open chugging breakdowns. During the jam “A Darkened Faith” the band makes a very strange head banging breakdown that’s not like other breakdowns. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s unique for sure. Also in the song, there is a very melodic guitar solo which differs greatly from old KOTA.

Now as for the CD Shades as a whole, well KOTA tend to be a little bit repetitive. There a few tunes that stand out from others such as the instrumental “Feeling Faint” and the loud bells ringing on “The Penalty Of The Tyrant”, but overall the album requires a little something more to maintain the listener’s attention.

Overall KOTA’s CD is not bad… not amazing, but decent. They have not gotten really gone soft as some would have imagined, but I do think they can do a lot better. Some might say KOTA can be compared with (in sound people) to With Blood Comes Cleansing mixed with Arsonists Get All The Girls. 7.1 Dragon Pies out of 10.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Banished
02. A New Darkened Faith
03. Whorror Storm
04. Don’t Feed The Heathens
05. Running Out Of Earthly Wealth
06. Feeling Faint
07. Dis Unveiled
08. The Penalty Of The Tyrant
09. Suicide Reign
10. Bound By Heresy
11. Exploitation
12. Behold The Frigid Realm Of Div

Run Time: 37:00