KENOS is a Black Metal project hailing from France led by an only man known as K. With influences ranging from Black Metal to Doom and even Ambient music, it does not treat the listener lightly as the name of the band implies. KENOS, which means "void" in Greek do not follow an already written path and do not have such thing as a conceptual approach to music. It is a way for its mastermind to release its personal anger, grief and violence upon the world. KENOS's first album is called "Inner Rituals" and it has been written, performed and recorded by K, except for the bass which has been held by Maelstrom as well as the mixing and mastering. Finding his inspiration in dark personal events, K has chosen to follow the path of another Greek concept: The Catharsis. "Inner Rituals" is to be released by BloodCrown Records.

IF DEATH DOOM METAL AND BLACK METAL HAD A SPAWN IT'D BE CALLED KENOS.

I messaged the band on Facebook:

Me: "On listening to the album I'm loving the style but what would you say the style was you were going for?"

Kenos: "Well, I have trouble defining what gender would describe my music best. I was aiming for black metal while composing it, the sort of that makes you journey through your inner self. I'd say ambient black metal, but there are so many ways in which you could describe it."

Me: "Yeah I completely get that. There is a Blackened Death Metal feel like early Behemoth as well as a few Death Doom (in Dust) but I think it works brilliantly that you have the openness to express into multiple sounds. Who or what would you say your inspirations are"

Kenos: "I've been greatly influenced by Behemoth. I was so impressed by their work when I discovered them as a teenager, and am still enjoying their latest releases, they always blend black and death so perfectly and in such a very impressive way. On the slower side of music, despite these bands not being doom, I think late Celtic Frost and Triptykon influenced me most. I discovered these bands a bit later, unfortunately, but I was immediately in love with their ability to produce a bleak mood, very slowly and simply. And their true mastery, is that they know how to perfectly add up and accelerate these deadly ambiances into insane fast songs, with killer riffs."

Me: "Yeah "Shackles" has a few CELTIC FROST bends in it."

"Snakes" has a blackened death feel to it, kinda like you hear from Polish Gods BEHEMOTH, however the slow burning feel to it allows you to appreciate it in a different way. The blend of heavy, full-on dark melody works well with the low, slow vocals. The melody feels like it will just keep ticking over, its steady without threatening to explode into a further gear of pace and power. The last thing you want is for all metal subgenres to sound the same. This has aspects of other bands that you will have heard before, but it is their own dark style that truly shows.

"Atlantis" begins with a familiar tempo to Snakes. It starts dark and deep on the vocals with a decent sludge-like melody. This has rawer vocals and power to it, less traditional distorted black metal, but a true blackened death metal feel to it. It works brilliantly, some spoken word in the middle adds to the darkness from the melody guitars. It now sounds less like other bands and more a new brand (at least to my ears) of Black Metal, if this is the new wave, I am very happy

"Dust" has the drums and bass kicking things off with a deep set of vocals booming out. The guitars kick in like a storm cloud around the rain. It progresses really well into the 2^nd quarter where it slows down again. Sounding like a mix of doom death on instrumental and ambient black on vocals. Maelstrom strumming along on the bass works perfectly add depth until K hits out a frantic solo matching guitar and drums perfectly.

"Sinborn" has a faster strum to start, still with the atmospheric doom/black metal feel, but with a Blackened Thrash surge every now and again that MAYHEM and DARKTHRONE became well known for. K hits out his now trade-marked deep hitting vocals in short bursts, this has been noted throughout the album, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of the instruments. There is a bit of spoken word in this again, which allows a short break before K hits you for six with a rage-filled outburst of vocals and sped up guitar, a new aspect to this growing sound. The breakdown around the 5-minute mark goes into an ambient style mix, very short outbursts of vocals keep you hooked on the different sounds. K is now controlling the song as the puppeteer

"Shackles" throws the dark doom style intro into your face once more, with a few CELTIC FROST style bends on K's guitar. His fingers are creating real beauty in this song, with the guitar and bass more clearly outlined here. The vocals are short, this is probably the most Black Metal sounding song after the beginning. The slow spoken word is slowed down to match the mood, its dark and gloomy with the CELTIC FROST sounding bends thrown in the mix to add real spice.

"Light" returns to the CELTIC FROST speed once more, with the melody in the back having the Black Metal feel to it. There is the odd Black Deathgrowl, all be them short, they are very effective in this song. The whispered spoken word mid-song is broken by a mix of doom-sped melody and a raw set of screams. The depth to the tempo through this album is fantastic. This is truly a brilliant album for those of us that appreciate the different aspects of extreme metal.

For Fans Of: BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST, HELLHAMMER