Samsara is the sophomore album from Karybdis and it sure is an interesting listen that sees the band draw elements from a whole host of different styles into their sound.
Karybdis have found the perfect balance between aggression and melody, and play this to their advantage, whether that’s by following up a particularly brutal-sounding section with a softer melodic instrumental moment, or simply using both styles in tandem with one another. The powerful vocals really get a lot added to them when delivered with a nice little technical melodic guitar line underneath, and it adds more of a ‘draw’ to the music as a whole.
Constellations is perhaps one of the stronger tracks of the piece; the listener is almost catapulted into an in-your-face wall of guitars and vocals after the fairly simplistic introduction, and it really leaves an impression on you as the track progresses…and then in the middle, there’s this wonderful proggy guitar solo. On the outside, it sounds like it shouldn’t quite fit with the track as a whole but it slots in perfectly and the song wouldn’t be half as good without it.
There’s not much that can really be faulted with Samsara – this is a masterfully constructed listen that people will keep wanting to come back to, and will surely go down an absolute treat in a live environment thanks to the sheer energy and versatility of it all.
9/10
