Kkht Arkh – Night & Love [CD]

Description

Kkht Arkhis the Ukrainian project founded in 2018 by Dmitry Marchenko. The debut album Night & Love was initially released on the Finnish label Livor Mortis in 2019 and its now seeing a worldwide reissue via Brooklyn label Sacred Bones.

Dmitrys intent to experiment with standard black metal canons previously seen at play in Through the Branches to Eternity EP (2018) solidify further on Night & Love, he mentions back then I had an idea of combining Darkthrones Transilvanian Hunger type of black metal with early Internazionale or Croatian Amorvibe.

Described as ambient or atmospheric black metal, this debut presents Kkht Arkhs signature dichotomy of harsh traditional early Norwegian black metal and the more ethereal and delicate melodies. On the other hand the lyrics are romantic and melancholic, clearly influenced by a stark Gothic imagery, and serve as an extra layer of mystery to the already suggestive body of work.The album beings with a soft acoustic intro in As the Night Falls… before descending into the raw and raucous Elegy for the Memory of Me and Den Venstre Hnd PDen Hyre, both songs that are drenched in the more traditional black metal style of raspy, high-pitched vocals, dense, tremolo- picked riffs and fast paced drums.It is however songs like Night and Love that really set this album apart. Night is a softly spoken word ambient track that with a beautiful piano synth work that permeates throughout it aids in the romantic delivery and conjuring of imagery of the night. Love is a spellbinding and melancholic song, equal in its romanticism but one that displays a deeper sorrow and tenderness supported by calming field recordings of trickling water.

The intertwining of black metal, dark folk and ambient repeats itself, culminating in a quietly hummed outro …And Never Ends (Eternal Love) that alludes to and completes the albums first track.

Tracklist:

1. As The Night Falls…
2. Elegy For The Memory Of Me
3. Den Venstre Hånd På Den Høyre
4. Night
5. Her Body Strewn With Petals Black
6. Primal Beauty Of Silence
7. As The Wounds Gently Bleed
8. Love
9. Down To The Depths Of Inner Cold
10. Mysteriet Med Svartfiolett
11. Through Night Which Knows No Dawn
12. Forever Night Castle Of Love
13. …And Never Ends (Eternal Love)

UPC: 843563155257
Label: Sacred Bones
Release Date: 11.18.22
Format: CD