Khôra as a concept can trace its origins back (as far as the internet is concerned) to 2012 where the band was formed as a one-man project by German multi-instrumentalist Oleg – Of, among other things, Autokrator fame. It seems that his goal was to fuse the ruthless intensity of Black Metal with the grandeur of an orchestra while still taking a more avantgarde approach to both in order to create something new – Which has so far resulted in one Demo (with Oleg on every instrument and vocals) as well as, as of early this month, two Full-length releases, filled to the brim with talent borrowed from other well-established bands.

As for the genre itself – I do recall the overall Black Metal scene back in the day and while not directly unique, there was defiinitely very few band of a similar feel as Khôra at the time, being not quite symphonic yet still taking the same underlying premise and taking it into another, far more ambitious direction. And as a testament to not only Khôra but the few other bands of the same bent, enough other musicians have been inspired to thread the same path for the sub-genre itself to get a defining name: Atmospheric Black Metal – A personal favourite of mine alongside Funeral Doom due to how engagingly all-consuming as well as immersive it can be when done right. And Khôra is certainly doing it right.

Ananke is the name of their newest release, a ten tracks long record spanning nearly forty-one-and-a-half minutes of runtime – However, the way I enjoy it, it might as well have been one continuous track; One of ever-building tension as the lyrics ponder the meaning behind the existence of the universe and everything inside it. Indeed, Khôra is a being (or perhaps not) best described as an interval between the womb and the matrix and Ananke is the Orphic personification of inevitability so I cannot even claim anything but my own ignorance for not being prepared for that part – What I was prepared for however and what truly made me spin the record and disappear into it is how it is dripping with atmosphere across every single proverbial chapter.

I use ‘chapter’ instead of ‘song’ in this specific instance due to how every song, despite how it builds upon the foundation of the former at the same time has a feel and agenda all of its own – Most noticeable of these being the track ”On A Starpath” (the sixth when spun chronologically) being the first to introduce clean vocals as opposed to the menacing growls up to that point. Definitely a strength of the format as it were, that having a large array of guest musicians (some of them vocalists) allowing you to play to different strengths which in turn offers minor tweaks to the overall experience. Which definitely turned out to be a pleasant one.

Recommended for fans of Wolves In The Throne Room (to an extent), Emperor and Arcturus.

https://www.facebook.com/KHORA.Official/