KHADAVRA

Black Widow Records have long been one of my favourite labels, as Mass not only releases new albums but also looks back in time and reissues albums on vinyl which may not have got the love first time around. Here is has not gone too far into the past as this release by Swedish pysch/prog band Khadavra was released in 2021, but then it was only digitally and now it is available on CD and vinyl which is only right given the quality of the music within. Formed in Gothenburg, this is the third (and currently latest) album by Sebastian Eriksson (guitar, vocals, sitar, Mellotron, synthesizer, percussion), Alexander Eriksson (drums, vocals, percussion, glockenspiel) and Jon Klintö (bass, throat singing, whispers, acoustic guitar) who so far have had a different fourth member on each of the three releases to date, this time that role being filled by Marcus Holmström (keyboards, Mellotron, Moog synthesizer). There are also a few guests, the most notable being Liv Fridén who provides flute on four songs. Having had a look at their FB page I see the fourth role is now Felix Ekholm who provides keyboards and flute so there are some Spinal Tap goings on here.

All three albums have been self-released, and I have not come across the others, but if they are anything like this I am quite surprised they have not been picked up before as here we have a band who are combining space and delicacy with over the top bombastic psychedelia in a manner which reminds me of Blue Cheer and certainly has me thinking the album was recorded no later than the mid-Seventies, as there is just no way it can be coming to us from 2021. It is over the top, it is huge, it feels like the band were killing it in the studio and just letting rip with whatever came to mind and to hand. Early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Blue Cheer, there is a lot going on here and it isn't always melodic with notes being dragged out of instruments and grabbed screaming into the ether. One can hear the sweat and intensity as they pummel through extended workouts like "Possession" which is sixteen minutes in length and contains both beauty and horror as they switch between ballad and gothic mentality with sweet keyboards and crunching guitars. The song is a workout both for listener and musician, and the way they switch between space rock and pop psych is a wonder to behold.

One can only hope we are going to hear more from these guys who are still active, as this is a blast.

KHADAVRA is an atypical Swedish psychedelic rock quartet created in 2012. Influences on early PINK FLOYD, on jazz, on psyche-space groups such as MONSTER MAGNET, HAWKWIND, TOOL, ISIS, MOTORPSYCHO, GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and the BLACK SABBATH veterans; by digging out certain beaches, the divine breaks of ANEKDOTEN and CAMEL come back; a little hints of KING CRIMSON and SIGUR ROS all that to say that we are in the experimental progressive psychedelic in my opinion, amen! They define themselves as digging deep into the untapped subconscious, seeking the unknown from within and expressing the sound found; a music inspired by common and unusual experiences on the surreal life we ​​ are currently living; sound on the dynamics, the emotion, the trance generated more than on the technicality of the notes, all amplified by the joint use of the English language and kindergarten.

"Stundom" for a psychedelic entry, soaring, beautiful, dreamlike, too short, which is used to prepare "Shapeshifter" which leaves on a deluge, what about a colorful musical maelstrom, sounds of the 70's embellished with more recent ones; the sound is clear, energizing at the limit of the jam as the ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE do so well. "Lucid Revival" with a distinctive oriental ambiance, it feels like the gardens of a caliph in search of nirvana; it starts with an obvious PINK FLOYD title from their first titles, well it's heavier anyway. "Possession" continues with this Indian atmosphere, bordering on mantra; messy sounds, saturated guitars that twirl, crystalline keyboards that form saving breaks; it takes an effort to dive into this colorful musical meander, we dive, we fish you out, we push you back into the abyssal depths for a quarter of an hour; a masterful psychedelic atmosphere where Sebastian excels on the guitar; watch out for this dreamlike explosion every 10 minutes and its final. "Zoning Out" for an anachronistic, rhythmic track of the dark and vintage THE CURE, the fast instrumental break sends far and allows to be tamed easily. "10102020" for the Scandinavian medieval interlude with old acoustic zither.

"Katla" and the second big track which refers to groups such as ANEKDOTEN, LANDBERK and ÄNGLAGÅRD; thunderous psychedelic highs, almost hard breaks at times, others with flute giving an acoustic, Scandinavian folklore aspect; final crescendo with explosion of the drums, vocals à la OPETH from the beginning to hang up if you got lost in space limbo. "Anhedonia" for the title creepy mantra, we went beyond, we approach Heaven, the air is strangely calm, serene, the voices hang on to the earth anyway; it is strange, singular, also resting after the flood before; "Vemod" which looks like a musical ox where the piano has the hand; dreamlike piece accentuated by the slide guitar then electrified; the finale returns to a soaring atmosphere beatified by the Gods themselves. "Hologram" for the album's melting pot; a colorful musical trance on POPOL VUH at the start, a monolithic voice and instrumentation that will tune, hang around; a mantra from the end of the 60's psyche pop then Floydien like on the tracks of "Animal", the more strident post rock guitar or stoner I do not know any more, allows to end in apotheosis.

KHADAVRA sets up with this opus a perfect musical oxymoron; mixture of dark light, warm darkness, a musical hyperbole imbued with sounds, emotions, ramblings influencing our mental associations; more than the psyche, we seem to be entering a hypnotic musical state here and it is not the classic French horn, didgeridoo, marimba, sitar instruments that will change our minds. So yes it takes progressive blood to dive into this maelstrom from which you will not be sure to return intact, on the other hand this album has the power to break a little more the progressive codes and to propose a new sound, this which is an undeniable plus at the start of the decade.

I love discovering new bands to follow and, surely, Khadavra will be one of those bands. This is excellent material. The band clearly has its roots in the classic times of prog but the sound of Hypnagogiaand the writing is brand new only slight references here and there "Dissolve" (Focus) and "Mordangel (King Crimsonish) but You will enjoy it as much as I did this melodic writing, especially the longest track at the end, almost 28 minutes of pure bliss. I know this is a band that will be spectacular to see live and maybe someday I will. Who knows? in the meantime enjoy this.