Kekal opens this split CD with three songs that are hit-and-miss. "Mean Attraction" is the best song off their last album. "The Only Sound of Rain" and "A Stranger So Close" are both songs that start slow, but finish intense — saving these songs from being skip button material. Lastly, they do an awesome and emotional cover of "The Skull" by Trouble. I often find myself hitting repeat on this song. Kekal is very talented, but some of their vocal experimenting seems to hold them back from becoming an excellent band. Slechtvalk is next and this material is absolutely killer! "Whispers in the Dark" is a song that easily could have fit on their Falconry album. However, it's the following three songs that leave me virtually speechless. "The Dragon's Children" is a brutal, pure black metal song. No keyboards. Just blistering guitars, blasting galore, and horrifying vocals. "Storms" brings back the symphonic black metal style in another extremely fast song with tons of blasting than incorporates some awesome black metal/death metal vocal trade-offs. Lastly, they do a fantastic cover of Antestor's "Kongsblod." These four songs are very intense and worth the price of the disc alone. You want this CD.
Editors' ratings — Doug 4/5, Lonny 3/5
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2002Reviewed by Marco PovervestA former colonial power (The Netherlands) and a former colony (Indonesia) work together on this split effort. Is this leading to chaos or to warfare? Probably both as this is a black metal attack. Indonesia's Kekal is the first with its four tracks, one from their latest album. The Skull is a cover from the now defunct band Trouble. The new songs are The Only Sound Of Rain, which would have…
