https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Kongh: The Shadows Taking Shape

Echoes of YOB’s The Unreal Never Lived pop up on Swedish trio Kongh’s sophomore full-length, whether it’s the driving rhythm that built tension “Quantum Mystic” transposed onto opener “Unholy Water” or the malevolent triplet riffing of “The Mental Tyrant” in the closing title track. By keeping their sound generally darker, though, and adding elements vocally and otherwise out of black metal, Kongh make it through the five tracks of Shadows of the Shapeless without sounding overly redundant or derivative.

Issued first in Europe by Trust No One, Shadows of the Shapeless finds distribution Stateside via Chicago imprint Seventh Rule Recordings. No strangers to the town, Kongh played the 2008 Kuma’s Doom Fest, which marked their first US appearance. Whether the narrative actually goes that that’s where and when they came to the attention of Seventh Rule (one imagines it was actually before), it’s impressive they’d wind up on the label nonetheless, Seventh Rule in the past having issued albums from Akimbo, Sweet Cobra, Indian and Wetnurse.

The music on Shadows of the Shapeless is bound to inspire all manner of antler-laden hyperbole and metaphor, but what it rounds out to is post-metal crunch with darker and heavier shades that set it apart from the pseudo-cerebral approach that so much of the genre has taken on these last few years. To call it progressive wouldn’t be a mistake, but guitarist/vocalist David Johansson successfully averts the Isis trap and crafts a more natural-feeling soundscape. As the press release suggests, the music is cinematic, but sitting and parsing through its ups and downs, blasts and lulls, feels like a waste of time as compared to experiencing the whole of each of these songs.

As the only track under nine minutes, centerpiece “Tänk På Döden” (4:24) is an ambient setup for the more beastly “Voice of the Below,” which boasts more straightforward new school doom riffing from Johansson, rumbling groove from bassist Oskar Ryden and a suitable ride/crash interchange from drummer Tomas Salonen. This track feels tighter than the even longer “Essence Asunder” or “Shadows of the Shapeless,” but it’s not that Kongh’s approach is lacking something on the other songs, they’re just changing it up for “Voice of the Below,” and to welcome results.

There won’t be much coming from Kongh that close followers of post-metal or neo-doom haven’t heard before, but Shadows of the Shapeless offers more than a few moments of truly individualized songwriting that seem to wash over the rest like the undulating sounds of the riffs themselves. Definitely of its era and loaded with complex grooves, the album makes the most of its influences while never losing itself in unnecessary keyboard interludes or self-indulgent noodling. Doesn’t seem like asking a lot, but these days, that makes a big difference.

Kongh on MySpace

Seventh Rule Recordings

Tags: , ,

One Response to “Kongh: The Shadows Taking Shape”

  1. goAty says:

    I’m enjoying this one right now…noticed the cover a few days ago in the record store, then came across the article in the new Decibel…$11 later and a few beers in, here I am. Riff a rolla.

Leave a Reply