Keres goes on the hunt.
Formed in Italy in 2016, the band released a demo and EP the same year, then kept a low profile, playing a few shows. In 2024, Ares (vocals), Azrael (guitar), Astahrot (guitar), Hrymr (bass) and Notrhakr (drums) signed to Gruesome Records to announce Homo Homini Lupus, their debut album.
The first track, Exist for War, immediately brings us face to face with a massive rhythm where double-pedal and lively riffs doubled with bloody harmonics cohabit under furious vociferations. Pure violence and blistering sonorities mingle in a dynamic approach that eventually becomes more jerky, then Immaculate Incarnation of Darkness comes to hammer us in turn, continuing to inject its heavy Death Metal influences and revealing heady melodies. The suffocating sound continues to oppress us during the dissonant break, before accelerating one last time to Oblivion, where the introduction already foreshadows the savagery that is sure to settle in just as naturally, pummeling us with blows. The rhythm mellows out at rare moments on the finale, then Pale Horse of Extinction takes over to maintain the hell of rage the band unleashes on us non-stop, injecting a few intense lead parts here and there before setting off again on Until Everythings Burned, where the musicians give free rein to their fury. Every moment that the aggression seems to fly, it returns with the same power, making the short intro to Leviathan the only moment of respite, quickly overtaken by the chopping riffs that will become the watchword of the track thereafter, creating a catchy but explosive dynamic, especially on this final eruption. We continue with Eradicate the Infected Seed, a composition on which certain vocal parts become more unhealthy, complementing the ferocious howls with their dark touch, then disappearing on the ominous break to return and lead us to Void and Silence, which paradoxically will be one of the tracks with the most downtime, but also the one where the riffs catch fire the most before disappearing forever.
Keres‘ absence is quickly made up for by the raw power of Homo Homini Lupus, and its virulent darkness. The album grabs you by the throat, screams hate in your face and doesn’t let go until the last second. An intense experience.
95/100