KIR are a two-piece combo from Kraków, Poland. The band consists of Harvest (vocals) and Ferment (guitars & bass), while Krzysztof Klingbein (session drums) is a guest musician. Like many of their colleagues from Polish extreme metal scene, KIR also plays black metal. On the other side, unlike many of their associates, their take on black metal is very modern, and with lyrical content that is not all about religion. Thus, in December 2024, they released a five-tracker album titled, L’appel du vide (The call of the void).

L’appel du vide is a quite lengthy material, with lengthy compositions, that explore the lowest of lows of human nature, warped and excreted by the concrete jungle. In other words; it’s ‘a deeply personal tale of a troubled mind entrenched in a society seething right below the surface’.

Track listing:

1. DestinationVoid
2. Monument
3. Znów
4. Eter
5. Apoptosis

On L’appel du vide KIR performs a style of black metal that is raw and aggressive, yet modern sounding. The lyrics are written in Polish (the booklet is containing English translations!) and dealing with subjects of isolation and the despair of the human psyche. The production sounds pretty solid and professional, creating modern black metal with a cold and unforgiving edge.

My personal favourites, and tracks that I would recommend, are a quite excellent track “Znów” (Again) – where the vocals of Harvest sounds absolutely merciless, well-supported by guitarist/bassist Ferment which fires his most decimating riffs of the entire album right here. Another stand out track is the grand-finale named, “Apoptosis” (watch below), being a quite lengthy, detailed and experiemental song, that varies in both mood and speed. It’s blasting for almost ten minutes of no hope, just chaos and mayhem.

The album is recorded by Maciej Soboń at ‘TRIPlets Audio’, while it’s produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by the band’s own guitarist and bassist Ferment. L’appel du vide displays a rather grim & eye-catching artwork, work of another member of the band, vocalist Harvest.

To sum up; L’appel du vide is an unforgettable journey through disappointment and despair (of the human psyche), towards disintegration. Highly recommended for all fans of the genre, as L’appel du vide is an album not to miss!

Hence, you can get to know more about the duo on their Facebook, but also show them your utmost support by purchasing the album from their own BandCamp page.

Watch “Apoptosis” official lyric video below.