KAVRILA reminds me of the dark and heavy sky of Hamburg by night in Autumn. This feeling that nothing works, this nihilistic rage that borrows as much from Grunge, Sludge, post punk or anything even slightly related to Hardcore. Kavrila also stands for honesty. A basic but really effective production, without any artifices, any major sophistication, no compromises.
Kavrila are back with the last part of their Rituals trilogy. The first EP set the groundations, violent and fat. The second opus turned all the knobs up to the point of being almost over the top. Now this third EP has the hard task to conclude this entire arc. And, spoiler alerts, I had a blast listening to it over and over again. Once again, the band demonstrates that you do not need to apply any formula or play a very niche genre to offer a powerful yet very personal piece or art.
Even if it follows the direction of the two previous EPs, Rituals III seems way more mastered. Less messy, less brutal but still very authentic. Worry not, the depressive part in each and everyone will get its dose of darkness with the Sludge Doom “Longing” from which I love the quite creative and well thought of bridge part. On this EP, we also find a tiny portion of falsely optimistic hope. Mixed in via the use of less dissonant harmonic progressions or by this salvating rage, this nuanced positivity is never too much or too gimmicky. I can’t help but think of “Equality” with this almost upbeat hardcore feel but also the ambiances alternating on “Elysium”. By cleverly using lead guitars to go Baroness harmonized mode or, the other way around, being noisy and cloudy like a morning after heavy Astra beer binge. The song ends with this scream from Kavrila’s singer Heart directly to our souls: Elysium!
With a duration of 16 minutes, this is the longest of the 3 EPs, yet it suffers no downtime and perfectly closes this cycle. The EP format fits very well Kavrila’s music, allowing them to produce regularly while never feeling the need to fill up an album with second tier material (their first album to date was awesome though). With each EP, I came out of my listening sessions asking for more of those punches in my face!
Beware: this is not the soundtrack to a sunny and joyful spring and summer. If you’re not yet familiar with Kavrila’s sound, I highly advise you to wait for the next lightning storm before starting this record!
Last modified: 16 April 2021
