Kongh - Shadows of the Shapeless

The Swedish sludge/doom trio, Kongh, are a conglomeration of individual musical passions which range from the laid-back cool of the blues to the full-bore visage-mashing hostility of grindcore. There must have been some serious in-house fighting that preceded their compromise that they “wanted to play very loud and heavy and to have a good time”. One great thing about such conflicting opinions is the melting pot of ideas that emerges and this follow-up to their debut album, ‘Counting Heartbeats’, in particular, is overflowing with them.

‘Unholy Water’, for instance, is the heavy-as-fuck combined turbulence of Oskar Rydén’s penetrating bass, Tomas Salonen’s tempestuous drums and David Johansson’s sludge-flinging guitar and vehement vocal which is the very driven wind itself, roaring in elongated blasts around your lugholes. At nine minutes the tornado collapses into a buzzing pile, around which a melodic riff drones before the vocal steps in to finish you off.

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Tracklist

1. Unholy Water

2. Essence Asunder

3. Tank pa Doden

4. Voice of the Below

5. Shadows of the Shapeless

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Kongh & Ocean Chief - Kongh & Ocean Chief (Split)

Kongh’s side is a twenty-five minute doom flotilla called “Drifting on Waves.” The sound of the water at the outset could be interpreted in a number of ways: it could relate to the barren wasteland of music ahead, it could relate to the watery grave for which the protagonist of this song is headed, or it could relate to the musical bath provided by the guitar tones. In any case, this Swedish trio knows how to craft intricate, emotive tracks. The first section is thick with dark atmospherics. Every chord and rhythm is forced out with a finality that threatens to grind the song to a halt. Guitarist and vocalist David Johansson sings as if his voice is barely escaping his throat. This immediacy commands attentions; it’s hard to do anything else besides sitting back and listening.

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Kongh

Ocean Chief

Tracklist

1. Kongh - Drifting on Waves

2. Ocean Chief - Freija

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Kongh - Counting Heartbeats

A few weeks back I reviewed a very interesting EP by the bipolar band Cleric. These lads at Sound Devastation Records have killer taste. I see on their site that they are also putting out the next effort by Fall of Efrafa. Awesome indeed. But now is the time (late time) for the Swedish trio Kongh, who late last year released this first full-length recording Counting Heartbeats. And though at a quick glance it may seem as if Kongh are simple doomsters we may be wrong to just tag them as that. In fact, these guys go for a pretty varied approach; one that for sure demands a full listen, and that for sure, also demands repeated spins.



As the label tags their styles as; doom/drone/post-metal/alt-metal, it is all surprisingly true. Counting Heartbeats goes through each one of those genres, not once, nor twice but repeated times through the course of the five songs contained here. And five songs isn’t just a bit of music anymore; Kongh is the type of band that takes its time stirring things up. They get to the boiling point, but man, they will make you wait and you’ll have a crushing time while at it. Think again; five songs, that is sixty-five minutes of dragging tempos, raw, loud but non-cookie monster vocals, soaring sludge riffage, giant drums, hypnotizing melodies, and the same angry mood presented over and over in several different ways.



These are songs filled with momentum. And unlike the music of so many post rock bands; there is nothing pretty about them. What is most remarkable is the band’s fluent transitions from one sub genre to another one. I know, I know. I, like everyone else, am getting sick of so many post rock and drone bands popping up everywhere, and producing the same peak and valley records (post rock) and abstract records (for drone) but don’t take Kongh for granted. This trio is the real thing. Their music makes sense.

(Taken from Deaf Sparrow)

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Tracklist

1. Pushed Beyond
2. Counting Heartbeats
3. Adapt the Void
4. Megaprimatus
5. Zihuatanejo

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