Hey Marko, thanks for stopping by! I definitely agree! I'm super glad to see artists using black metal to create something either than a facemeltingly intense experience, or a vague icey soundscape. I don't know of any other artists really using it in this fashion, though it does remind me quite a bit of what Revenant Marquis has been doing lately as well (at least sonicly)
Këkht Aräkh does the things I would want from a black metal album that is raw. I do like how much of a huge part that the piano has to do with the themes, narratives and story of the Pale Swordsman. I like that the rawness has a purpose to this record.
Hey Blackwater, thanks for stopping by! That's totally my sentiment as well. I wanted to highlight in this review the things you don't notice on the first go around. On the first listen, the beautiful sound design is very apparent, but it's not until you've listened to it a couple times and read through the lyrics that you really start to understand the whole aesthetic of the album. I'm hoping this review will help some people who perhaps missed the narrative or some more subtle points of the album to appreciate it a bit more deeply!
My first impression when I found this album was: alright, another raw stuff with a generic black metal cover... but THEN, as I was going through the songs, I felt like "this is so damn good, It thrives across the borders of raw black metal" and then I went further through the lyrics and understood the narrative. Well, to me, this is a masterpiece!!!
Awesome review! I think the vampiric references are not intended as a literal story, but rather are allusions used to represent and express feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loving someone you can't have.
Hey Scott, thanks for stopping by! I Absolutely agree. Pale Swordsman is definitely an example of mythos, and is meant to portray emotion. The first step to appreciating the mythos of this album is to know it exists though! I talked mostly about the storyline in this review because I felt like most people would easily miss it if they only gave the album a casual listen. I thought "In The Garden" had the coolest expression of emotions. I thought it was a class act in establishing the setting in an album. Basically no one has ever done it better in a concept album lol
First track really got me i accidentally clicked this on black metal promotion bcz the cover art got me and listen to damn simply the best album ive heard in 2021 so far. Edit: not really the first but the track titled Thorns*
Hey Jamie, glad to see you stopped by! I agree, it's like the poster boy for beautiful black metal. I feel like 'too short' is one of the best complaints you can have about an album lol
Pretty special stuff, IMO. I've not actually listened to the full album, but I know the track "swordsman" and it's beautiful. I actually discovered this guy because of a video he put out recently, and ofc he uses the moniker "the crying orc" and clearly draws inspiration from Burzum (at least tracks like "the crying ork") I feel the crying ork is one of shortest, most powerful piece of music I've ever heard, and it's cool to see people channelling that energy today.
Definitely, and it's pretty easy to miss that if you don't give it quite enough attention. You won't catch most of the coolest stuff on a casual listen.
Little late to the party dude but you for sure got a new subscriber!!! I wake up and listen to "Berge" by Ellende and "Thorns" by Kekht Arakh everyday. Lol. Glad to see people enjoy this album as much as i do. 🤘
Thanks, Altay! I'm also obviously a huge fan. I feel like a lot of black metal is well engineered, but isn't actually really art. This one is just so different from what anyone else in the black metal scene is doing.
Intelligent and insightful review of this Album/CD 'Pale Swordsman' by Kekht Arakh. I think this work is a super impressive effort by KA, and the fact that it is a home recorded one man project out of Mykolaiv, Ukraine makes it even more impressive. I would love to use their music in one of my upcoming films. I love the wonderfully sorrowful black/gothic sound, and of course the vampiric subject matter/story. Peace.
Thanks for stopping by, Rick! I really enjoy this album as well, it's definitely my favorite black metal album of the year so far. I tried to write the best review I could for it!
That's great. I'm super glad I could point stuff out about the narrative and such. One of my main reasons for making this video was that I wanted to expose that aspect of the album to as many people as possible.
Hey, if it isn't my man Step! Glad you enjoyed the review. I do my best. I feel like anyone can wander into this album and be like "ooo, pretty piano", and you should definitely try to appreciate those things! The sound design on this album is gorgeous. But also, I think if you play a little theatre of the mind with the lyrics and narrative, it can really aid in the enjoyment, and most people wouldn't have that context on the first listen (I certainly didn't!). Anyway, I'm totally enamored with this thing, and I hope my review will help you enjoy it as well!
@@feigner374 ive seen a lot of people describe the overall vulnerability of the record and i even saw some describe it as “emasculated” but not really as a negative connotation, more as an artistic choice, and that only enticed me further so seeing your review now definitely gets me even more intrigued than i was before, i’ll come back here after i listen to it and we can discuss because i feel like i’m on the outside looking in right now since i havent heard it yet lmao
@@_itchweed Sounds great. The closer you look, the more unusual it is when compared against your standard 2nd wave BM album. I look forward to hearing what you think, I'm glad to see you come around so often to my videos!
Thanks for stopping by, Erica! It really is quite beautiful, and I felt that a lot of the subtleties could be missed or misunderstood with only a casual listen. I'm hoping people who discover this video gain a bit more of an understanding of what it is they enjoy about it, or at least learn the narrative.
As a Ukrainian,I prove it is trve Btw,really beautiful,also i would admit that It’s hard to pick a favourite song because the album listens as a whole and single thing,so that’s definitely awesome 😎
Thanks for stopping by, Miros! I agree, it's basically sacrilege to listen to only a portion of this album. Especially with it being so tight at only 31 minutes lol
@@oblasermafro6975 да,слушаю ещё с “night and love”,нашел этого маэстро когда смотрел кто должен был приехать на метал фест какой-то в Харькове в этом году(который к слову отменили) и типо очень зашло,увидел новый альбум,сразу побежал слушать,уже наверное от начала и до конца раз 30 переслушал,каждый раз как первый))))
I'm quite fond of Night and Love as well. It especially had some great tracks on it. Night & Love had the Kekht Arahk formula down, and all the nifty sound design ideas of the project laid out which capture that feeling of meek antiquity. However, Pale Swordsman really brings it all together and makes a full piece of art and album with it. Night & Love strikes me a bit more as a collection of songs.
Sick video man, it is an amazing album, very different from the usual BM, def one of my favourites by far, just wondering if you have heard the song 11 days by Fjaer? Pretty much tells 11 different stories in 11 minutes
This is one of those albums I wasn't really interested in because I thought the cover was so cheesy, but you have definitely piqued my interest now. Also, just an observation: You speak really well in front of the camera. The entire video and how you described the album was very engaging. Nicely done.
That is a legit on point analysis of the record. I don't like enjoy it as much as Night and Love, but goddamn, Pale Swordsman is a dead ass loud artistic statement.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, ÆÞELWOLF 85 ! This is one of the most impressive pieces of black metal I've heard in quite a while. It's not every day that someone manages to just create a fully fledged piece of art like this!
I feel like this review really doesn't describe the actual music because you got so caught up in the lyrics and imagery. Theres clearly some Burzum influence in this album - the 3rd track "Night Descends" displays its Burzum influence clearly at 2:25. I also get a strong hint of Celestia and Nuit Noire influence on this album. A French melancholic who stumbled upon some Burzum riffs. The drumming while good, its your typical raw black metal drumming with cymbals to accent the riffs. No groovy beats. Same with the vocals, its just typical black metal vocals, he really doesnt do anything interesting - no whispers, no howls etc. Surprisingly the bass guitar is quite audible in this for a black metal album, a nice surprise. The 4th track has some excellent bass lines. Also its worth mentioning the really nice keyboard lines that go alongside the riffs on "Thorns" and "Crystal", its not full on synth like youd hear on a Nokturnal Mortum album, but its just very gentle synth lines that help to keep things interesting.
You're very correct. My goal with these videos is less about doing an analytical breakdown of the sound design & influences of the album, and more about contextualizing it and helping others to better enjoy it. Hence why I label these as "Why is it good?", and also never give out scores. In the scenario of this album, I thought the narrative and aesthetics were the primary thing which casual listeners would miss, and so I felt that was the most important point to address. It's also the aspect which makes it most saliently different from other works in this realm. I agree with your synopsis of the sound design though! I hope some viewers will get some useful tidbits from it!
The one man incharge of Kekht Arakh is named "Crying Orc" so yeah. Its clear that he was inspired greatly by Burzum. Even the "distorted clean part" of In The Garden is very Burzum-esque
The most complete piece of art I've stumbled across in ages
Hey Marko, thanks for stopping by!
I definitely agree! I'm super glad to see artists using black metal to create something either than a facemeltingly intense experience, or a vague icey soundscape. I don't know of any other artists really using it in this fashion, though it does remind me quite a bit of what Revenant Marquis has been doing lately as well (at least sonicly)
@@feigner374 check out silhouette - les retranchements
Këkht Aräkh does the things I would want from a black metal album that is raw. I do like how much of a huge part that the piano has to do with the themes, narratives and story of the Pale Swordsman. I like that the rawness has a purpose to this record.
Not as raw as KKB tho
Hey Blackwater, thanks for stopping by!
That's totally my sentiment as well. I wanted to highlight in this review the things you don't notice on the first go around. On the first listen, the beautiful sound design is very apparent, but it's not until you've listened to it a couple times and read through the lyrics that you really start to understand the whole aesthetic of the album. I'm hoping this review will help some people who perhaps missed the narrative or some more subtle points of the album to appreciate it a bit more deeply!
so well put @blackwater Rust !
I've listened to this album 11times since it's release. It's a beautiful album. And great review.
Thanks for stopping by, Arden. I'm glad you enjoyed the review!
BSoD!!!
11 times ? I’ve listened to it over 30 times probably
I probably listened to it 11 times the first time I heard it 😂
Bought this album on band camp. Happily Paid double the asking price. What a work of art.
I have the vinyl preordered, so I'm excited for whenever that comes around. Certainly feels like art rather than just another perfunctory metal album.
Discovered Këkht Aräk this evening, already listened to the album three times. It's nothing but pure beauty! Somehow, strangely everything works!
My first impression when I found this album was: alright, another raw stuff with a generic black metal cover... but THEN, as I was going through the songs, I felt like "this is so damn good, It thrives across the borders of raw black metal" and then I went further through the lyrics and understood the narrative. Well, to me, this is a masterpiece!!!
A very refreshing album and sound!! I love every minute of it!!
Thanks for stopping by, yungsmokeyogTX. I'm glad you enjoy this album!
Awesome review! I think the vampiric references are not intended as a literal story, but rather are allusions used to represent and express feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loving someone you can't have.
Hey Scott, thanks for stopping by! I Absolutely agree. Pale Swordsman is definitely an example of mythos, and is meant to portray emotion. The first step to appreciating the mythos of this album is to know it exists though! I talked mostly about the storyline in this review because I felt like most people would easily miss it if they only gave the album a casual listen. I thought "In The Garden" had the coolest expression of emotions. I thought it was a class act in establishing the setting in an album. Basically no one has ever done it better in a concept album lol
Pure art. Love Kekht Arakh's work!
First track really got me i accidentally clicked this on black metal promotion bcz the cover art got me and listen to damn simply the best album ive heard in 2021 so far.
Edit: not really the first but the track titled Thorns*
And i love how you describe it and how you review it with much pointers than other metal tubers
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the review! I try to emphasize the things you might miss or not realize if you just gave it a casual listen.
pale swordsman es poesía pura, una obra d arte
Just a solid and beautiful album my main complaint it’s too short reee
Hey Jamie, glad to see you stopped by!
I agree, it's like the poster boy for beautiful black metal. I feel like 'too short' is one of the best complaints you can have about an album lol
I just found out about him
Masterpiece ❤
Pretty special stuff, IMO. I've not actually listened to the full album, but I know the track "swordsman" and it's beautiful. I actually discovered this guy because of a video he put out recently, and ofc he uses the moniker "the crying orc" and clearly draws inspiration from Burzum (at least tracks like "the crying ork") I feel the crying ork is one of shortest, most powerful piece of music I've ever heard, and it's cool to see people channelling that energy today.
this album is magic
Definitely, and it's pretty easy to miss that if you don't give it quite enough attention. You won't catch most of the coolest stuff on a casual listen.
unfortunately, the best artists are and remain unknown because society is too superficial
:(
damn i'm glad i found this after listening to the album so many times
I'm glad you enjoyed the review, and I hope you took away something valuable from it!
Little late to the party dude but you for sure got a new subscriber!!! I wake up and listen to "Berge" by Ellende and "Thorns" by Kekht Arakh everyday. Lol. Glad to see people enjoy this album as much as i do. 🤘
It's an album you have to listen from start to finish to capture the atmosphere/story.
This album is great. Aesthetically it is very unique, yet, very consistent in itself. Thanks for the review, I subscribed.
Thanks, Altay! I'm also obviously a huge fan. I feel like a lot of black metal is well engineered, but isn't actually really art. This one is just so different from what anyone else in the black metal scene is doing.
Been obsessed with this album but had no idea about the lyrics and story until now. Great video man!
Intelligent and insightful review of this Album/CD 'Pale Swordsman' by Kekht Arakh. I think this work is a super impressive effort by KA, and the fact that it is a home recorded one man project out of Mykolaiv, Ukraine makes it even more impressive. I would love to use their music in one of my upcoming films. I love the wonderfully sorrowful black/gothic sound, and of course the vampiric subject matter/story. Peace.
I hope that worked out! I regularly wonder why more underground metal isnt used in soundtracks.
Great review/video! I'm obsessed with Pale Swordsman. It's absolutely perfect. Been listening to it nonstop since I got it.
Thanks for stopping by, Rick! I really enjoy this album as well, it's definitely my favorite black metal album of the year so far. I tried to write the best review I could for it!
This album makes me wanna re-watch Castlevania.
Ty for the review, a lot of stuff I missed. Listened thru it 5 times now, my fav album of 2021
That's great. I'm super glad I could point stuff out about the narrative and such. One of my main reasons for making this video was that I wanted to expose that aspect of the album to as many people as possible.
Flawless review of an album I just discovered. It's definitely something special.
wonderful analysis, this album caught me by surprise how good it is in its entirety. you've got a cool channel, wish you growth!!
Dude it's legitimately so fucking good. It's 2 parts dsbm, 1 part folk music, 1 part fantasy synth, and 1 part minecraft soundtrack
I accidentally stumbled across Kekht Arakh and now I am fascinated. Both Pale Swordsman and Night & Love are mesmorising.
Yeah, kekht arahk is like a step aside from what everyone else in the genre is doing, and I think it's brilliant for that reason.
@@feigner374 Agree. But isn't that what we search for, the expected? Wonderful.
This is the best album ive heard all year
I have listened to it so many times
I really relate to him
I wanna be him for Halloween
This album is perfect
I know, right? I don't really have anything I'd change about it.
so glad you reviewed this one ive been really looking forward to listening to it
Hey, if it isn't my man Step!
Glad you enjoyed the review. I do my best. I feel like anyone can wander into this album and be like "ooo, pretty piano", and you should definitely try to appreciate those things! The sound design on this album is gorgeous. But also, I think if you play a little theatre of the mind with the lyrics and narrative, it can really aid in the enjoyment, and most people wouldn't have that context on the first listen (I certainly didn't!).
Anyway, I'm totally enamored with this thing, and I hope my review will help you enjoy it as well!
@@feigner374 ive seen a lot of people describe the overall vulnerability of the record and i even saw some describe it as “emasculated” but not really as a negative connotation, more as an artistic choice, and that only enticed me further so seeing your review now definitely gets me even more intrigued than i was before, i’ll come back here after i listen to it and we can discuss because i feel like i’m on the outside looking in right now since i havent heard it yet lmao
@@_itchweed Sounds great. The closer you look, the more unusual it is when compared against your standard 2nd wave BM album. I look forward to hearing what you think, I'm glad to see you come around so often to my videos!
This album got me back into black metal in a big way. Nice production btw, hope to see your channel grow.
I've started listening to metal from këkht aräkh and thats my golden band
Beautiful album, I'm in love
Thanks for stopping by, Erica! It really is quite beautiful, and I felt that a lot of the subtleties could be missed or misunderstood with only a casual listen. I'm hoping people who discover this video gain a bit more of an understanding of what it is they enjoy about it, or at least learn the narrative.
I was fucking surprised to figure out this album was made in 2021 so they nailed it in that regard
It’s beautiful I usually go for metal for the evil dark shit but this is beautiful
As a Ukrainian,I prove it is trve
Btw,really beautiful,also i would admit that It’s hard to pick a favourite song because the album listens as a whole and single thing,so that’s definitely awesome 😎
Thanks for stopping by, Miros!
I agree, it's basically sacrilege to listen to only a portion of this album. Especially with it being so tight at only 31 minutes lol
о, в снг о нём кто то знает)
@@oblasermafro6975 да,слушаю ещё с “night and love”,нашел этого маэстро когда смотрел кто должен был приехать на метал фест какой-то в Харькове в этом году(который к слову отменили) и типо очень зашло,увидел новый альбум,сразу побежал слушать,уже наверное от начала и до конца раз 30 переслушал,каждый раз как первый))))
A beautiful, raw and interesting album, first album Night and Love is also outstanding.
I'm quite fond of Night and Love as well. It especially had some great tracks on it. Night & Love had the Kekht Arahk formula down, and all the nifty sound design ideas of the project laid out which capture that feeling of meek antiquity. However, Pale Swordsman really brings it all together and makes a full piece of art and album with it. Night & Love strikes me a bit more as a collection of songs.
Sick video man, it is an amazing album, very different from the usual BM, def one of my favourites by far, just wondering if you have heard the song 11 days by Fjaer? Pretty much tells 11 different stories in 11 minutes
This is one of those albums I wasn't really interested in because I thought the cover was so cheesy, but you have definitely piqued my interest now. Also, just an observation: You speak really well in front of the camera. The entire video and how you described the album was very engaging. Nicely done.
I thought the cover was badass
Its a concept DSBM album about a Vampire who wants to commit Sui basically
Thanks for review
because its beautiful and calm, black metal noise + piano msuic is overpowered song
one of my favorite albums
I really enjoyed the album and this review.
Great review and record!
That is a legit on point analysis of the record. I don't like enjoy it as much as Night and Love, but goddamn, Pale Swordsman is a dead ass loud artistic statement.
Awesome review!
Blows away his first one that for sure
Its a good description and thats I owe you a thumbs up
I havent listened to the album yet btw
Yeah oldmasters 🕶🇧🇷
it's crazy how he recorded it on fl studio with a focusrite interface
Absolutely amazing album
You broke it down very well
this album is a piece of art it’s absolutely beautiful
ANCIENT TREES HIDE ME ON YOUR SHADOWS
Huge old school black metal fan but this is genuinely cool. Whats black metal without a bit of vampiric / historic fantasy imagery and theatrics
very early months, I can't believe this exist
Fantastic!! Grait album
Thanks for taking the time to comment, ÆÞELWOLF 85 ! This is one of the most impressive pieces of black metal I've heard in quite a while. It's not every day that someone manages to just create a fully fledged piece of art like this!
@@feigner374 I can't get enuff of it at the moment all fits into a perfect half hour. Cheers !!🍻
I never really liked black metal, but this album just buy me
wandering in the NIGHT*
I feel like this review really doesn't describe the actual music because you got so caught up in the lyrics and imagery. Theres clearly some Burzum influence in this album - the 3rd track "Night Descends" displays its Burzum influence clearly at 2:25. I also get a strong hint of Celestia and Nuit Noire influence on this album. A French melancholic who stumbled upon some Burzum riffs. The drumming while good, its your typical raw black metal drumming with cymbals to accent the riffs. No groovy beats. Same with the vocals, its just typical black metal vocals, he really doesnt do anything interesting - no whispers, no howls etc. Surprisingly the bass guitar is quite audible in this for a black metal album, a nice surprise. The 4th track has some excellent bass lines. Also its worth mentioning the really nice keyboard lines that go alongside the riffs on "Thorns" and "Crystal", its not full on synth like youd hear on a Nokturnal Mortum album, but its just very gentle synth lines that help to keep things interesting.
You're very correct. My goal with these videos is less about doing an analytical breakdown of the sound design & influences of the album, and more about contextualizing it and helping others to better enjoy it. Hence why I label these as "Why is it good?", and also never give out scores. In the scenario of this album, I thought the narrative and aesthetics were the primary thing which casual listeners would miss, and so I felt that was the most important point to address. It's also the aspect which makes it most saliently different from other works in this realm.
I agree with your synopsis of the sound design though! I hope some viewers will get some useful tidbits from it!
The one man incharge of Kekht Arakh is named "Crying Orc" so yeah. Its clear that he was inspired greatly by Burzum. Even the "distorted clean part" of In The Garden is very Burzum-esque
its a good album besides the memes. happy to have it... good review
SUBSCRIBED 🤘🔥💕😼
Ironic how one of the best piano music I’ve heard in a while is from a black metal band
Idk nothing for me. „Romantic“ bm or anything never worked for me
Не чиго не понимаю но очень интересно!..
Alucard in Castlevania basically
наш козак
What is tenitus?
Tetanus?
it looks like that pale swordman sound a lot like louis from the vampire chronicles
In my opinion this is the album alcest attempted to make and failed every time. Great stuff
Hello
Wandering in the night pale swordsman
This is a GORGOEUS review...
I strongly hate black metal, but man this album and their discography as a whole is a piece of art
Most definitely dsbm
Sonically doesn't sound like dsbm, but I get your point.
Its definitely concept DSBM album but made around the fictional story of a Vampire who wants to commit sui
It's fucking awful, did we listen to the same thing?
Yeah, it sucks balls. One guy described it as "emo". It's garbage. I don't know what all these clowns are so giddy about.
This is a really great review