I can’t quite explain how it came to be, as 99% of my musical listening has the term post in the genre, but I have found myself being very fond of Scottish folk/melodic death metal band Hand of Kalliach. Whilst I may credit a mix of lockdown twitter connections, pride in the Scottish scene and an infallible love of the bands last label Trepanation Recordings, ultimately the enjoyment comes from the skilled craft and execution of Sophie and John Fraser. The main ingredients of Corryvreckan, namely folk and melodic death metal, have been used before but the results that are produced here are something quite spectacular. With Prosthetic Records now in its corner Hand of Kalliach has produced a stunning album which, with any justice, will set the band on a trajectory that is richly deserved.
I am a fairly pernickety music listener and find it difficult to get into a lot of metal that infuses folk as it can be very chalk and cheese in the way they are combined, often like oil and water separating when forced together. Hand of Kalliach delivers both in unison and it makes for a refreshing change. The beginning of ‘Fell Reigns’ almost sounds like it’s going to head the way of Dropkick Murphys but the riff is immediately devoured by the growls of John Fraser, including much Gaelic prose, before Sophie interjects with some insanely moving ethereal vocals. The same riff then appears through the song with no doubt of its place in the track and it fits perfectly. In a similar vein the band never falls into generic metal traits either. The straight to the point ‘Dìoghaltas’ has barrels of riffs without being cloaked in a metallic coat. When the tone shifts on ‘Deathless’ the heaviness gets a whole new depth as the guitar and drum work keeps a great pummelling pace throughout.
It would be easy to write essays on the tales within the songs but that would take a bit of research and knowledge that my lifetime living in Scotland has somehow been ignorant to. The beauty here is enjoyment doesn’t even require that knowledge as the exquisite vocal delivery unfurls those tales. Sophie produces a masterful vocals performance of transcendent grace whilst John comes in like the coastal Scottish weather and casts the realism into the fantasy. The lyrics are delivered in both Gaelic and English which flows beautifully amongst the thunderous musicianship as the music whips like the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
Like the waterway itself, Corryvreckan is a breath taking, relentless album. Moments of slight electric pipework in ‘Unbroken You Remain’ and ‘The Cauldron’ thread the folk which is really amped through the otherworldly vocals of Sophie. The sheer pace drives the folk elements into a heavier outlay and epic closer ‘Of Twilight and the Pyre’ gives a nice summation as the glorious clean vocals are given the spotlight with light instrumentation before that gets blown away by the ferocious guitars and drums. Hand of Kalliach is folk without being twee, metal without being generic and Corryvreckan would appeal to those on either sides of those genres and beyond.
