Review by Krys on November 5, 2013.

What a debut! Can you imagine that after almost 50 years of metal you can still come up with unused original band name and sound? Who knew? Norway's Khonsu is a brainchild of guitarist S. Gronbech, brother of Keep of Kalessin guitarist Obsidian who by the way produced 'Anomalia' and taking that connection even further vocals are handled by KoK frontman Thebon. I'm not a religious man but let's pray that knowing the nature of this type of projects we'll see another release from these guys.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this almost perfect bland of industrial/avant-garde/progressive black metal. Don't let those tags scare you it's 'simply' a mix of Arcturus and post-Emperor Ihsahn. The variety of different styles, moods and tempo shifts is mind blowing but done with so much ease that it keeps 'Anomalia' as one cohesive unit. Brilliant strings sections ranging from raw black metal riffs to acoustics mold perfectly with layers of keyboards, industrial loops and what I feel the best vocal performance from Thebon who doesn't hold back and uses his full scale and tone.

'Anomalia' is a very strong debut and a must have for any fan of modern black metal. It's progressive without being too complex and industrial without too many sample loops and noises but at this same time keeps listener involved from first to the last note with ever-changing musical landscapes and tempos. And if Khonsu is just a side project of KoK and I won't hear from them again I'm going to stop listening to Norwegian metal… just kidding.
Seriously, this can only get better!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10