Album Review: Karkaos – Children of the Void (Self Released)

Children of the Void is the second full-length album from Montreal, QC melodic metal band, Karkaos. The album is out on May 26th 2017 & guitarist Vincent Harnois had this to say:

“We have been working hard for a long time to be able to give you an album that combines beautiful melodies to our own symphonic signature, groovy and brutal riffs to intensity as well as catchy choruses.”

The 12 tracks of Children of the Void take you on a symphonic journey, a journey filled with pace & intense metal riffs blended with soaring melodies. The mix of female vocals against the death metal growls, the super-fast drum beats, the screaming guitar solos & action packed orchestral elements really push Karkaos to another level.

Think the guitar style of Children of Bodom with the brutality of Arch Enemy & the melodic nature of Epica but with their own unique sound.

Early songs like Skymaster, Kolossos (with Morgan Lander of Kittie guesting) & Let the Curtain Fall are all fist-pumping, exciting tracks with blistering pace. The latter, Let the Curtain Fall is a particular highlight thanks to its uplifting chorus.

Unlike many other melodic/symphonic metal bands Karkaos keep the softer elements in the background choosing to let the brutality of the metal take up the heavy lifting. It works great as when tracks do drop their harder edge, they have far more impact.

The best is saved for the end though. Where Mushroom’s Grow is an epic with some of the best riffs & throat roars of the album, Lightbearer’s vocal hooks really dig in & The Beast’s aggressive beats scream absolute fury.

An excellent melodic metal album comes to a close with the longest track of the album, Bound by Stars. An epic finish in every sense of the world, the culmination of a long journey, one that has been filled with such highs. It caps off a damn fine album!

Karkaos – Children of the Void Full Track Listing:

1. Babel
2. Skymaster
3. Kolossos
4. Let the Curtain Fall
5. Pale
6. Children of the Void
7. Revere
8. Tyrants
9. Where Mushrooms Grow
10. Lightbearer
11. The Beast
12. Bound by Stars

You can order Children of the Void over on Bandcamp & find out more about Karkaos over on Facebook, Instagram, MySpace, ReverbNation, Soundcloud & YouTube. You can also check out the first single from the new album, Kolossos below as well as check out their first album, Empire via Apple Music.