Metal Breath Production, 2009

One of the most respected metal musicians from Czech Republic, Peter Hosek, has been a guitarist in the occult band Root prior to 2004. Soon after he decided to form another band/project going under the name of Cales. His latest offering is entitled KRF, quite unusual and odd name for an album.

Apart from the band name, the whole project was a big questing mark to me, as KRF is actually my first encounter with this band. On this eight-tracker record Peter Hosek proves once again how talented and well-experienced musician he is. Despite of the fact that KRF is not his strongest work to date, it still has many interesting prospects offering a bunch of songs that are mostly in a Pagan/Viking/Folk Metal manner.

Production is a bit hard, rough and unpolished reminding me of an old-school Black/Viking bands such as Bathory, Enslaved, Primordial and likes. There’re some nice harmonic chants but also clear singing, tight riffing and nice Folkish guitar leads. It is obvious that the main focus is on the guitars, which is also the instrument where Peter is showing all of his talents. He’s a world-class guitarist, but not necessary a singer, as his vocals sound a bit too weak and unsecure. Still those many interesting and catchy tunes are what raise the standard of this album.

If you for instance take a slow-down, almost doomish, song “Legacy of Honour” one is in no doubt; this man knows how to create some killer guitar soli. To times he also incorporates some other instruments, giving this almost epic atmosphere throughout the whole album. Not many people are playing this kind of music today, at least not as successfully as Peter Hosek, so I’ll give him all credit for doing so. However, the somehow messy production and weak vocal performance is something that really drags down the overall impressions of this album. Contact:  www.cales.mysteria.cz