Kvelgeyst
Alkahest

Once again, I emerge from the usual silence; once again, I take you on a journey through strange realms.

Today's album will indeed take us to another dark and bizarre world, far more peculiar than the strange Japanese forest of the late Aoki Yutaka, seen in the last review.

Let's delve into the details:

"Alkahest" is the official debut of the Swiss band Kvelgeyst, which in almost 37 minutes aims to explore an abstract and surreal world, dominated by alembics, astronomical symbols, mythological creatures, universal solvents, swords forged for everything except cutting, cosmic eggs, and recipes for eternal life: Alchemy (a subject I'm quite ignorant about, so if I make any mistakes, please forgive me). So what better way to bring such a world to life than through blast beats, grim guitars, growls, and screams?

The six tracks in "Alkahest" (all blessed with very long, but fortunately "separable" titles) offer an unsettling, almost psychedelic Black Metal, alternating between heavy bursts and airy openings, meant to immerse us in atmospheres bordering between the spatial, the esoteric, and the mystical. What you'll hear in songs like "Demiurg - Denaturierung Holobiont," "In der Hölle trieft der Gran," or the opening "Basilisk - Im Angesicht des Schattenwichts" (despite being heavily influenced by the Norwegian school of the '90s) won't be the usual all-blast and Set Chicco recording (those familiar with the scene will know this stereotype well). On the contrary.

"Alkahest" has a production perfect for the genre, in a modern sense, and makes everything that "Alkahest" truly is comprehensible: an infinite kaleidoscope of choruses, overlapping voices and laughter, spoken and filtered pieces, riffs sometimes evocative and open, sometimes crooked and dark, acidic vocals (that interchange gracefully between growls, screams, and excruciating howls), reverberations, synths and occasional xylophones, and much more; all complemented by the lyrics, hermetic and twisted (besides being entirely in German).

Certain tracks, such as "Demiurg - Denaturierung Holobiont," are true experiences:

First, you're riding on powerful and almost epic riffs, followed by blast beats, tupa tupa, and reverberated screams, but then you stop. You find yourself gazing at the starry, deep, and clear sky, as if standing before a balcony in a grand palace (probably located in the red city seen on the album cover). And from that same balcony, you can see the army of black knights approaching, accompanied by subdued and nebulous notes and rhythms. And suddenly, everything restarts: blast beats, epic riffs, and acidic screams, symbolizing the entrance of the red defender who, wielding a huge sword, repels the attack of the invaders hiding among the clouds.

"Alkahest" is something special; such a thing cannot be explained in words, also considering that it took Kvelgeyst 4 years of work (they formed in 2015 indeed). So, you must dive in yourselves and discover the rest of the ritualistic and alchemical micro-world that the three Swiss have crafted.

...and finally, I repeat, in case there is someone who has studied similar topics: forgive me if I've made mistakes with certain terms and/or symbols.