Alkymist is a pretty new band from Copenhagen Denmark featuring two ex
Gas Giant members (Stefan Krey and Kasper Luke). They are joined by Philip on drums and Peter
(used to sing with the metal band Detest in the 90s) on vocals. The album features 6 tracks, 3 of which
appeared on their cassette released earlier this year but they have been
rerecorded here. Do not expect
psychedelic stoner rock ala Gas Giant, this is doomy death metal. The LP starts off the track Ghost (see video below). It starts with
just the drums and then a very heavy guitar riff kicks in and over the top of
that a second nice melodic guitar line. Peter’s vocal is very impressive with
some powerful lyrics as well.
Eventually, there is a short guitar solo section before back to the
punishingly heavy death doom!
Djinn speeds things up a bit, especially the start with the intense
drumming and then the deadly doom returns.
I like the spacey mid –section with a whispered voice, which gives you a
break from the intensity of the music, which speeds up again at the end with
some interesting guitar riffing and other guitar parts in between the darkness.
Check the video for this track below.
Myling is a moody one with a variation on what you have heard before,
with a similar hanging melodic guitar line before the heaviness kicks in. There
is a short melodic sort of guitar solo that ties some of the sections of the
song but this is more for the mood, no real powerful solos like Stefan can
play. Nice melodic ending.
Side B starts with the instrumental, Egypt II, a short keyboard intro
track that leads into the long track, Paradise. This has a riff a bit more like
the band Sleep, but a darker lyrical content than Sleep. IT eventually comes
down with some nice acoustic guitar and a more soft vocal before the evil grows
once more and you are thrown back into hell with the demon death spawn. Potent!
Serpent is the last track on the album and starts with the sound of the ocean.
The guitar is the first instrument to enter with a beautiful guitar line and nice
vocal by Peter before the intensity of the music grows. This one comes in waves
and changes things up a bit. Probably the most heavy metal of the tracks. This is some heavy and intense music but I miss the amazing guitar
playing of Stefan. I feel like this style of music really limits him severely.
I shared the stage with Stefan many times over the years and he is one of the
best lead guitar players on the planet but you would never know that from
listening to this record. This is a
tight band, with the drums and bass, really well played to set the template for
the death doom attack. Phew.. what an album.
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