Space/Time Carnivorium
Bofo Kwo
According to their Facebook page, in BOFO KWO, all songs are written, recorded and produced by Kimmo Lindholm and Ted Egger. Most artwork is done by Kimmo Lindholm but there will be both past and future artwork made by Richard Hadfield. The story is a mix of tribe cannibalism and Science Fiction as BOFO KWO and his tribe travels to different worlds than our own after leaving ours in death and madness. "Space/Time Carnivorium" contains seven tracks.
"Plate of Hate" opens the album, with some grumblings in the background, and some light symphonic elements. Spoken word comes in a different language. Then, the main riff hits, with hard and heavy accents. The vocal are vile shrieks, but you don't get the traditional "wall of sound" here in the instrumentation. It's more Industrial for me...cold and sterile with a lot of open notes. "Second Sun" opens with a bit more grandiosity, from the guitar riffs to the background symphonic elements. The symphonic elements stay pretty steady throughout the song, as do the voile vocals. But suddenly, a passage of clean vocals with melody springs up...very surprising.
"Epic" is an eight-and-a-half-minute beast. Opening with light piano notes female vocals, it sounds like you are slowly awakening from a long slumber. But then the main riff hits hard, along with the harrowing vocal shrieks. It's a slow grind from there, along with some laughter here and there. Around the half-way mark, it picks up in speed. "New Destination" is about half as long, opening with clean guitars and bass notes, along with some background ambiance. This is a more traditional Black Metal sound, with fast moving guitar and drums. "Green Leviathan" opens with more spoken words, In English. Dissonant female vocals lead the charge here, as the guitars build to a thick and commanding sound. The male vocals are also dissonant. This is an odd song.
"Bullets of Despair" opens slowly as well, and then the big crash of guitar and drums, with lead guitar parts filling in the gaps. The vile sound continues through much of the song, with moments of speed and chaos. "The Massacre" closes the album, with opening dissonance, then the main riff hits with weighted fury. In the verses, the sound is hardly there, with the steady cadence of the harsh vocals. It sounds like what you might expect to hear in the moments leading up to a massacre. Towards the end, it slows...and the massacre is happening.
Overall, the album did a pretty decent job of painting the picture that the three composers wanted to portray. Aside from the fairly standard Black Metal vocals, the instrumentation varied quite a bit, which was nice to hear. It means the band is OK with stepping out from under their forefathers and creating something a little off the beaten path. I would recommend this for Black Metal fans who aren't stuck in the "True Kvlt" trend.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Space/Time Carnivorium" Track-listing:
1. Plate of Hate
2. Second Sun
3. Epic
4. New Destination
5. Green Leviathan
6. Bullets of Despair
7. The Massacre
Bofo Kwo Lineup:
Wamufo - Production and Lead Guitar
Bofo Kwo - Lead Vocals
Bomari - Various Vocals
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