2017...a great year for the Metal scene in Montreal and I was pleasantly surprised that I had to review KARKAOS. KARKAOS have grown alot since 2013 and had some band member changes along the way as well. They added the supremely talented Justine Ethier on drums, being that BLACKGUARD (another amazing Montreal band) are on break, well she decided to join the ranks of KARKAOS. They also replaced lead singer Veronica Ortiz Rodriguez by Viky Boyer. I discovered KARKAOS by accident in February 2013, they had the unlikely task of replacing a number of bands stuck in a snowstorm in Canada's Atlantic provinces. A local concert company asked two locals bands to fill in and unfortunately the crowd wasn't very receptive. They did their best but the crowd was there for the other bands and I felt they were disrespected that night.

I had the honour and privilege to talk with Christian Donaldson, lead guitarist of CRYPTOPSY, that produced this very album. I spoke with him last week, we were actually classmates back in elementary school, the world is a really small place. He has an amazing studio in the east end of Montreal called The Grid. One of the best studios in all of Canada and he has produced so many bands throughout the years and keeps doing in when time permits. He said the addition of Justine Ethier completely changes the dynamic of the band. He said it was a lot of fun working with Viky Boyer and she had some really great ideas for the direction of the album. He said all in all it was a great experience to produce their album. They have a few special guests on this album, Morgan Lander from KITTIE does some great work on the first single ''Kolossos''. You also have Lindsay Schoolcraft from CRADLE OF FILTH that does some nice backing vocals on the album as well. The whole album artwork is freakin' amazing, the artist is Marcela Bolivar and it's one of the most beautiful album covers I have seen this year by far. It reminded me a bit of the Studio Ghibli artwork I am so fond about.

I loved the fact that album starts off with the instrumental track ''Babel''. It's very intense and paints a really nice atmosphere and ambiance for the rest of the album. The second song (''Skymaster'') is one of the strongest off this release. In the vein of EPICA, it's some great Symphonic Metal and we discover the amazing voice of Viky Boyer at the same time. She is really impressive and has quite the range. You got a great contrast of styles with the beautiful voice and the growls of lead guitarist Vincent Harnois at the same time. I loved the duality for sure. Another song that is in the same direction would be ''Tyrants''. Probably the most energetic song of the album, it focuses on the dual singers as well and you have some really impressive guitar work as well. The vocalists try new things on this one and you have a great combination that makes for a great song.

Let's talk about the aforementioned first single, ''Kolossos'', it features the vocal stylings of Morgan Lander from KITTIE. She does more than do guest vocals, she owns this song! I was never really a fan of this band back in the day but she does a great job on this one and adds her own twist to the band and it's not lost in the shuffle at all. The title track is the most complex of the album. It has a lot of twists and turns and has that Progressive Metal feel to it. You have some amazing guitar work and I loved the fact that the song has so many different changes in its direction. It goes every which way but loose! It's probably my favourite song of the album. It's refreshing that the song isn't unidirectional, it has a lot of elements from different styles. I thought it was a nice touch.

What can I say about the last song of the album, such power! It's a very beautiful song and Viky shows all her talent on this one. The lyrics are quite personal and she just pours her heart into this song. Even if its the longest song of the album, it didn't feel that way. It didn't feel like with dragging along and it's far from being uneventful. The solos on this one are awesome and probably the best guitar work off of this release. An album that makes an impact, a great impression. They have matured so much since 2013 and they did an awesome job on this album. They worked two years to make it and it showed. It's one of the best releases of the year.