Keldian - Outbound

Keldian Outbound cover
Keldian
Outbound
Galactic Butterfly Music
2013
8
Keldian, the project, which is run by Christer Andresen (lead vocals, guitars, bass) & Arild Aardalen (synthesizers, vocals) is back in business after a 5-year hiatus. Certainly, five years of absence are not of minor importance, especially nowadays when albums outnumber hot cakes every month, but if that time off works for their own benefit, then it’s more than OK. After all, musicians also need space to free their mind, gather their powers and come up with something actually strong.
 
“Outbound” would be more preferably defined as an amalgam of progressive, melodic, metal, heavy/power, atmospheric, space, post-metal & hard rock. Generally, Christer & Arild define their sound as sci-fi metal. I would not disagree with that as the atmospheres they create give you indeed a space-like and sci-fi feeling. That’s the basic part where Keldian’s music becomes more distinctive and gets a more personal character. The catchy choruses along with the brilliant & detailed orchestrations offer a quite excessive diversity on the album. From heavy-power tunes (with spacy passages), to mid-tempo melodic metal ones (with atmospheric bits) up to the prog 12-minute, “The Silfen Paths”, which features all the above characteristics. That’s what makes this track very stimulating. A bunch of guest musicians such as: Thommie Myhrvold (vocals), Helene Hande Midje (vocals) & Kjell Vidar Merkesdal (vocals) do give something different & beautiful to the tracks at long last. The drums were once more recorded by Jorn Holen (Vreid) who actually makes the whole sound bouncier. The production is powerful, full & rich on the whole. The album was produced by the Christer & Arild, recorded & mixed by Arild Aardalen and mastered by Mika Jussila (Amorphis, Amberian Dawn, Angra, Apocalyptica, Avantasia, Entwine etc.) at Finnvox Studios.
 
The first time I came across this album was while I was listening to various tracks that I had added to my playlist, while dealing with something else. From the time the Keldian track started, it immediately caught my attention. Yeap, that’s an utterly worth-listening album, I thought… and I’m glad I did so. Every now and then you’ve gotta search so as to find some very special albums like this one. It doesn’t matter if they do not have a major label behind them nor a fancy advertising and promotional campaign… at the end of the day all that matters is the music and if the music is captivating and inspiring then it shall find its way sooner or later. If nothing else, we must support such bands in order to give them the motivation to go further.
 
“Outbound” may have all the well-known & widely used ingredients, which almost every album features more or less, but it’s the smart way they have been used that makes it intriguing & distinctive. This album is so enthralling that it is gonna excite you after a while. Every tune tells its own story so better not stray away! I would call “Outbound” an atmospheric, sci-fi, melodic heavy/power & post-metal release…