Album Review: Khôrada – Salt (Prophecy Productions)

Rising from the ashes of Agalloch and Giant Squid, a new group is born: Khôrada. Featuring former Agalloch members Don Anderson (guitar), Jason Walton (bass) and Aesop Dekker (drums) alongside ex-Giant Squid guitarist / vocalist Aaron John Gregory, Khôrada creates colossal, textured, and emotionally powerful music. The group will release its debut album, ‘Salt’ on July 20th 2018 via Prophecy Productions.

Salt will be released as a Digisleeve CD, Gatefold 2LP, 2CD book edition (hardcover, 18x18cm, 36 pages with enhanced artwork, liner notes and bonus track) and ltd. complete box set; including Gatefold 2LP, 2CD book edition, 7″ single, art prints and signed/numbered certificate.

A mood-altering listen, Salt is an album that aims to get under the skin with a blend of heavy, layered and emotive songs. Incredibly complex, Edeste darkened tone lends itself to a raw and heavy sound before dropping away into subtle, haunting melody and strained vocals.

Seasons of Salt follows a similar path but with far more aggressive bursts of heavy black-inspired metal. Water Rights takes the hard rock route with a slur and snarl to the vocals and Glacial Gold moves at the pace similar to the song title.

There is a lot to take in and Khôrada are far from finished. The final two tracks, Wave State and Ossify come in at a combined 22 minutes.

The former crashes about bringing some of the freshest riffs, the heartiest bass hooks and affecting melodies heard so far. While the latter is the most up-lifting of the album and thus the most exciting. A top finish to an album that betrays all metal and rock conventions to deliver a masterclass in unique, complex and fascinating music.

Khôrada – Salt Full Track Listing:

1. Edeste
2. Seasons Of Salt
3. Water Rights
4. Glacial Gold
5. Augustus
6. Wave State
7. Ossify

You can order the album over on Bandcamp, the band’s website and via all major streaming sites and stores. Find out more by checking out the band’s Facebook Page and listen to Ossify below.