Review by Adam M on April 6, 2013.

This album has an odd blend of sounds in that it there is a combination of straightforward Death Metal with a classic sound that hearkens to the days of Manilla Road or the Thrash of Kreator. There is a great improvement here as the band has added depth to their sound in comparison to their previous album, "Diabolical Kingdom".

The song-writing is clearer and it is easier to understand their ideas this time around. Originality is still not the strongest aspect here, but the solid musicianship makes up for this short-coming in spades. The very old-school vibe of the music on this disc is what gives it a life and personality of its own. The eighties thrash scene obviously had a huge influence on the band’s sound because they bringing staccato riffing from that genre to the forefront. Check out 'The 12th Planet' or 'The Final Battle' for examples of the Thrash riffs put as the center of attention. One could also liken their riffs of this type to Immortal or Black Metal bands of that nature. There is a strong sense of energy and compassion brought forth with the music of Blasphemous Creation this time around and it translates to a winning formula. The whole album has few down points as the emotion the band creates is always entertaining at the very least.

"Battle Of The Ancients" was odd because it brought to mind Thrash, Black and traditional metal as much as it did Death Metal throughout the large majority of the release. This means a lot of Heavy Metal fans that like different genres, but especially the classic scene, will find something to like here. The galloping nature of the music as it traverses these different genre is always fun and well-constructed enough to be appealing.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 8

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Maciek on March 31, 2015.

The black metal scene of Norway will never stop surprising me. Keep of Kalessin was always a recognisable name for me, but it was always one of those which "I will listen to at some point". And before I realised it, the band is already on the scene for over 20 years and just released 6th full-length album "Epistemology". So to provide well-informed review, I've had a look at their previous 5 albums and realised that I missed quite a lot of good music over these years and am catching up now as I write this.

Keep of Kalessin seems to have gone through quite a transformation, starting with quite Emperor-esque black metal, some bits of death metal to most recent achievement of quite interesting and very epic, Enslaved-ish album. Some of their early albums reminded me of Carpe Tenebrum as well, so I think that should paint a picture of a band which doesn't like simple riffs or easy rhythmical constructions.

From the line-up and the band's video you can tell that now the band consists of only 3 people, with Obsidian Claw now bearing vocalist's responsibilities, which is probably the biggest change. And in my opinion it is a change for better, putting the whole process of firing the previous vocalist aside, this is not a gossip website after all... His clean vocals remind me Ihsahn a little, which always brings back some good memories. Growls and shrieks are also good quality, really good job. The band seems to be excelling in epic tracks, which usually last at least 5 minutes and this album follows this tradition. The riffs are still complex, reminding some of the best masterpieces from Dark Funeral, but this album definitely has more progressive elements, which brought the band closer to Enslaved now, with some epic elements almost too catchy and too melodic. But fans of agressive, fast-paced blast beats can still find something for themselves on this album. Maybe I'm too picky, but I would probably only prefer more live-sounding drums, as these sound a bit too plastic, but that doesn't ruin the overall rhythmic section at all, there are some boundaries to the speed and accuracy of humans and some bands need some support (like Limbonic Art, another favourite band of mine). I am really enjoying Thorns-like or Ved Buens Ende-like pulled up riffs in "Dark Divinity", which is probably my favourite track here, thanks to really good solos. "Universal Core" probably my second favourite. Really strong position this year, the band which is really maintaining the same high technical level with this album having maybe a bit more melodic vocals, but since I'm a fan of clean vocals in Emperor or Solefald, this actually makes me like this album even more. I don't miss Emperor anymore.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Maciek on March 31, 2015.

The black metal scene of Norway will never stop surprising me. Keep of Kalessin was always a recognisable name for me, but it was always one of those which "I will listen to at some point". And before I realised it, the band is already on the scene for over 20 years and just released 6th full-length album "Epistemology". So to provide well-informed review, I've had a look at their previous 5 albums and realised that I missed quite a lot of good music over these years and am catching up now as I write this.

Keep of Kalessin seems to have gone through quite a transformation, starting with quite Emperor-esque black metal, some bits of death metal to most recent achievement of quite interesting and very epic, Enslaved-ish album. Some of their early albums reminded me of Carpe Tenebrum as well, so I think that should paint a picture of a band which doesn't like simple riffs or easy rhythmical constructions.

From the line-up and the band's video you can tell that now the band consists of only 3 people, with Obsidian Claw now bearing vocalist's responsibilities, which is probably the biggest change. And in my opinion it is a change for better, putting the whole process of firing the previous vocalist aside, this is not a gossip website after all... His clean vocals remind me Ihsahn a little, which always brings back some good memories. Growls and shrieks are also good quality, really good job. The band seems to be excelling in epic tracks, which usually last at least 5 minutes and this album follows this tradition. The riffs are still complex, reminding some of the best masterpieces from Dark Funeral, but this album definitely has more progressive elements, which brought the band closer to Enslaved now, with some epic elements almost too catchy and too melodic. But fans of agressive, fast-paced blast beats can still find something for themselves on this album. Maybe I'm too picky, but I would probably only prefer more live-sounding drums, as these sound a bit too plastic, but that doesn't ruin the overall rhythmic section at all, there are some boundaries to the speed and accuracy of humans and some bands need some support (like Limbonic Art, another favourite band of mine). I am really enjoying Thorns-like or Ved Buens Ende-like pulled up riffs in "Dark Divinity", which is probably my favourite track here, thanks to really good solos. "Universal Core" probably my second favourite. Really strong position this year, the band which is really maintaining the same high technical level with this album having maybe a bit more melodic vocals, but since I'm a fan of clean vocals in Emperor or Solefald, this actually makes me like this album even more. I don't miss Emperor anymore.

Rating: 9 out of 10