Kathaarsys is a matter of a band from the Spanish Galicia, arising from the ruins of the Gothic/Doom Metal combo Elsenor. Portrait of Wind and Sorrow is the so far first and solely publication of Kathaarsys.

With the opener Perennial Forest of Winter Kathaarsys demonstrates an impressing and at the same time surprising performance. The song is very diversified, besides all constantly mighty and occasionally right trenchant. Thus doesn't let expect at the beginning of the song. So it's satisfied very atmospheric and meditative particularly since vocals are heard. But this calm introducing part leads in a fast brute passage, referring its hardness to this poignant riffing. The singing is also distorted right forcible. With the alteration of rhythm and the music's intension, the vocals are changing, too, which periodically exist of distorted shrill screaming, a deep and vigorous Death Metal grunting and clear vocals.
After the varied Perennial Forest of Winter starts Gnostic Seasons with raw brute force as a quiet neck breaker. That matters doesn't rest, later on calm atmospheric passages appear, which interrupt sporadically the quick and sluggish passages. That concept occasionally isn't new, structuring songs that way, hard phases alternate with quiet and melodic ones. Indeed Kathaarsys transforms this concept very well and shows thereby certain sovereignty. Those Spanish can convince as well in those Death Metal loaded moments, with that deep guttural singing, that extreme technical riffing, as in those melodic and passages, so even in all dragging arrangements. The extraordinary point is that Kathaarsys engenders this atmosphere without using any keyboards or similar samples. Merely the passage with the clear singing isn't to my pleasure, because the voice seem too friendly respectively to innocuous.

Portrait of Wind and Sorrow is an intricate opus, where you can discover a lot at a total playing time of 65 minutes. Who likes style-overlapping, extreme metal, oscillating between Black, Death and Doom Metal as well as progressive parts, will take pleasure. The record already was published 2005 in self-management and will be re-released this autumn via Silent Tree Production.


Aceust


(Translation: G.P.)

01. Perennial forest of winter
02. Gnostic seasons
03. Epic pagan times
04. Portrait of wind and sorrow
05. Walk the mist in the lack
06. Nectar in the nocturnal river


KATHAARSYS