Greek Black Metallers KAWIR have gone around the block a few times. They've been spreading their particular brand of Hellenistic darkness since 1993 and are now on their sixth full length album. "Father Sun, Mother Moon" is eight tracks of pagan anger that doesn't stray too far from the trappings of their chosen genre, although they do mix things up a bit by taking lyrical inspiration from their home country's mythology and throwing a bit of Folk in as well. It's okay. You know, it's all right, nothing spectacular but decent enough when consumed in small doses. Listen to it on your own and it'll cast an atmospheric pall akin to wandering through a bleak, mud splattered medieval hellhole but try playing it in the car and you'll barely reach the third song. Running for over an hour it's a difficult record to indulge in one sitting and there's some major flaws to be found, but there's just enough decent moments to make it worthwhile.

Starting with the chime of a solitary bell, "Father Sun, Mother Moon" doesn't so much explode as shuffle into life, ambling through the speakers at a laidback pace before kicking off properly at the one minute mark. "To The Sovereign Sun" is a vicious and unpleasant opening track that creates visions of plague-ravaged landscapes where it wouldn't be unusual to see Eric Idle wandering around collecting the dead. It's not the best start but on "Dionysus," KAWIR hit their stride. It's still aggressively bleak, but this one comes with a more militaristic flair and plays out like a Black Metal martial song (Black Martial?). From here, the album switches between the desolate and the macho several times but they don't remain exciting enough to really hold the attention. Part of the problem is that they don't seem to know when to end a track, as they drag on well past their end date with repetitive riffs playing over and over in a monotonous slog. The emphasis is also heavily on traditional Black Metal, with the Folk section taking extended breaks in the green room and failing to leave a lasting impression.

They do redeem themselves with the excellent "Hail To The Three Shaped Goddess," the record's strongest cut that shows them hitting their peak. Sadly the next two songs don't measure up, with the closing "The Descent Of Persephone" a textbook example of pretentious, overblown Black Metal at its worst. KAWIR aren't bad, but unless you've taken the time to get your corpse paint permanently tattooed to your face they're easy to forget.

4/10