I was searching to find the meaning of the band's name and I really liked what I found. Karkadan's name is borrowed by a Persian mythological beast. According to the mythos many knights tried to kill a Karkadann (with two 'n') for its horn, the teeth and for the glory following its slaughter. But most of them failed and had to give their lives for it. Mythology from all over the world has great tales with a lot of mystery and fantasy. Karkadan try to include such a mystery in their music, in their melodies. Well, Black Metal from the German group Karkadan inspired from the mystery of mythology with many melodic and melancholic moments and there you have it...
Karkadan was assembled in September of 1997 with an initial line up incorporated by vocalist Robby Beyer, guitarists Florian Spannagel and Michael Zieschang, keyboard player Dennis Klink and Thomas Reeb on the drums. By December Felix Moosmann had been taken on to fulfill the bass role and Zieschang relinquished his position to Daniel Puts. Then came 1999's self financed debut album Eternal Black Reflections, recorded and produced at the Maranis Studios by Vagelis Maranis (Sanvoisen). After the recordings Spannagel left the band for musical reasons and Thomas Reeb for health reasons. In 2002 Karkadan released The Lost Secrets through Supreme Chaos Productions. Also in 2002 Karkadan's line up comprised mainstays Beyer and Puts, flanked by guitarist Phillip Oefner, bass player Gruni and drummer Martin Daniel. The Utmost Schizophrenia album was also delivered by Supreme Chaos Records.
Utmost Schizophrenia: is a Black Metal album with beautiful heavy riffs and solos, aggressive Death Metal moments and also some keyboards which make the songs more melodic and atmospheric. There are moments that Karkadan are more aggressive and remind me of a historical Black Metal group, Immortal. Songs like The Journey make obvious that Karkadan know how to manage their overall orchestration. Sea Of Bitterness has a stigma of Kreator. The only parts that make me bored are the slow and almost empty moments. In those parts they remind me of Rotting Christ in all their previous works.
It is obvious that Utmost Schizophrenia is a remarkable album and Karkadan have great ideas in the way of mixing dark music generally. I think that if they weren't so unjustified empty in some parts that they would be better and no way would any moment be boring. I also believe that they could succeed better as all of them seem to be quite good musicians.
- Album Highlights: The Journey and Sea Of Bitterness