ALBUM REVIEW: Dunkle Millenia – Kankar

Hailing from Thuringia, deep in the heart of Germany, black metal duo KANKAR have released Dunkle Millenia, their first full length album and follow-up to their 2018 EP Elemental Fury. While rawness may have hampered their initial release, producer Markus Stock (HELRUNAR, BETHLEHEM) is turning his hand to clearing up this release and ensuring history doesn’t repeat itself, but will this particular German steel be worth the polish?

First and foremost, from the introductory moments of fantastic opener Gier, it is fairly obvious that this is not your usual black metal fare. The hallmarks are all present and It’s very moody and misanthropic, but KANKAR are, unlike a wealth of their contemporaries, clearly obsessed with big, muscular riffs. This is particularly apparent on Krater In Sarx, which is a veritable patchwork of interesting, fresh ideas. This is made all the better by the production job, which next to immediately becomes clearly the correct decision. It is absolutely sublime and allows every element to ring out gloriously.

This is a motif that is revisited throughout. Tracks like Zerfall Des Lichts and Vergeltung present utterly enormous riffs alongside ritualistic vocal lines and intermittent devastating blastbeats. There is a feel of early-doors IMMORTAL here, with Incredible musicianship working alongside misanthropic attitude, but with a thinly veiled element of fun lurking somewhere in the background. That is not to say the album doesn’t produces moments of serious blackened fury though, Tracks such as N.E.I.D and Pilgerreise throw tight riff work and savage melody at the listener at breakneck speed, keeping them on their toes, waiting for the next riff to burst forth like a rotted arm through grave dirt and drag them off in another direction.

Even the atmosphere of Dunkle Millenia is different. It still has a deeply menacing aura but seems to be somewhat more sun-dappled than the howling permafrost misery of many of its contemporaries. This is particularly apparent in Festmahl Für die Krähen, with its undulating pace and druidic, wailing, almost URFAUST-esque vocals, it simply offers darkness in other shades, which is an all-too-rare but very welcome change.

A deeply endearing quality of Dunkle Millenia and one that is definitely worthy of mention is that it naturally presents absolute lashings of black n’roll swagger. For example in the slow, building grind of Die Sonne Über Ikarus. At it’s heart is a riff-heavy hard rock song, refracted through a lens of blackened misanthropy and refined by Herr Stock’s pristine production job. Listening to this track, the sheer attitude never feels forced or put on, It is genuine to the point where it would be difficult not to assume that vocalist/guitarist/bassist Stríð and drummer Plágan were simply born in corpse-paint with MOTÖRHEAD tattoos and just went from there, culminating eventually in the aural assault that your ears behold.

As Dunkle Millenia, both title track and emotional closer fades away, a feeling of hopefulness should swell in the chest of anyone who has a soft spot for metal’s darkest subgenre. What KANKAR have done with Dunkle Millenia is not quite reinventing the wheel, but it does inspire hope for the future of black metal, as it is a clear showcase that new, vibrant and exciting things can still be done within the confines of this subgenre. It brings a streak of well-disguised fun and riffs galore all wrapped in finesse and a level of bombast that would make Abbath himself brush a cloudy tear from his eye. It is living proof that thinking outside the box, taking notes from influences from all over the spectrum and experimenting can have truly exceptional outcomes.

Rating: 9/10

Dunkle Millenia is out now via Eisenwald. 

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