I’m going to say this up-front, so it gets maximum attention: “For fans of Amon Amarth and Insomnium!” Those are names to conjure with, and they are the names that first popped into my head when I listened to a brand new song called “Remnants” by a Melbourne, Australia band named Be’lakor.
The song comes from this band’s third album, Of Breath and Bone, which will be released in June. It was the first song by Be’lakor that I had ever heard, but it was the kind of song that got me as excited as a hypoglycemic kid in a candy store. I hoped that the rest of the album would live up to this first taste.
The introductory instrumental has an almost folk-metal air, with the lead guitar tuned so that it sounds like bagpipes, but then the big Amon Amarth-like riffs come down like thunder and you get your first taste of George Kosmas’ truly cavernous roars — they’re right in the middle of Johan Hegg/Niilo Sevänen territory, and that’s a territory laced with gold.
And onward from there, the song delivers a succession of riveting riffs, goth/doom melodies, and beautifully constructed guitar leads and solo’s. It gallops, it chugs, it vibrates with arcane power, it rumbles like avalanche, it pulses with urgency, and it soars with virulently infectious melodies. It’s a dynamic song, continually shifting in tone and speed, and it has well and truly hooked me.
After listening to “Remnants” about a half-dozen times, I prowled around to see what else I could learn about Be’lakor and found a live performance video of the band playing another song from the new album, called “Fraught”. The sound quality is decent, not great, but it’s good enough to confirm that there will be at least two very good songs on this new album.
“Fraught” is stylistically very similar to “Remnants”, featuring similar song construction and instrumental techniques, but damn, I suspect all of the songs of the album could be in this vein and I’d be just fine with it. Here they are:
DETAILS
Of Breath and Bone will be released by Kolony Records worldwide on June 1, 2012. It was recorded at Pennydrop Audio in Melbourne by Warren Hammond. The album was mixed and mastered in Sweden at Fascination Street Studios (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Paradise Lost) by none other than Jens Bogren.
Pre-orders will start on May 8, 2012, and will be available from www.belakorband.com and www.kolonyrecords.com. You can pester Belakor on Facebook here.
15 Responses to “BE’LAKOR: “REMNANTS””
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How do you not know this band?
‘Stone’s Reach’ is one of my top albums. Surely I’ve spouted gratuitous hyperbole about it before now?
Yeah, they definitely sound like a band I should have known about before now. Definitely psyched about the new album. And I can find no evidence that you ever mentioned them to me. Please punish yourself with appropriate severity.
love this band!!! liked the song, can’t wait for this release
I’m here to second Andy! “Stone’s Reach” is one monster of an album.
I searched all of our comments from Day One, and you, sir, are the only person to have mentioned this band in a comment (last November) and I stupidly didn’t follow up.
I like this band a lot better than either Amon Amarth or Insomnium. Don’t get me wrong, neither are bad, but I just like Be’lakor more. They find the perfect mix of melodeath and doom.
Holy crap, that DID sound like Amon Amarth making antichrist babies with Insomnium. Craaaaaazy!
This band has been on my radar for the past couple of years. Australia doesn’t get enough love as it is in the metal world and Be’lakor is a gem. I third Andy on Stones Reach being an essential album to have and excited for the new one.
I’m firmly of the opinion that Be’lakor are one of the best melodeath bands on the planet, and it sounds like the new album is going to be just as good as the first two. Time to play catch-up, Islander.
Listening to this song, I hear a bit of Amorphis in the guitar melodies, which is only a good thing as far as I’m concerned.
I really don’t know how this happened. I mean, I know I’m as ignorant as a bag of rocks, but not knowing about this band is like a whole new level of ignorance, like a bag of Dave Mustaines.
If they can somehow manage to come close to “Sun’s Delusion” I will be very happy.
I found these guys a long time ago, before they released their first album, on Myspace. Their music has been a part of my life as long as I have liked extreme metal, and they always will be. Both of their previous works are phenomenal, and Of Breath And Bone will be no different.
All I can say is that I’m really fucken glad I finally found this band. I have previous albums to explore and a new one that I’m mighty excited to hear.
Speaking of melodic death metal…well technical melodic death metal…
More new Allegaeon
http://lambgoat.com/features/20/Allegaeon-Twelve-song-premiere
As for Be’lakor, being an Aussie I am well aware of their presence. Purchased ‘The Frail Tide’ back in 2008 and really dug it. Ditto Stone’s Reach. But I hope with this album they ‘cut the fat’ and don’t stretch a song beyond 5-6 minutes for no good reason.
This is my most anticipated album of the year. The Frail Tide and Stone’s Reach are both fantastic (though Tide took a while to grow on me at first).