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Reviews

Khadavra — Hologram
(Black Widow BWRCD-248, 2021/2024, CD / 2LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-10-19

Hologram Cover art

It doesn’t take more than a few measures into the short introductory track, “Stundom,” to know that Hologram by Swedish four-piece Khadavra might be something special, and that is confirmed by the ever-morphing second track, “Shapeshifter,” a mix of progressive rock, space rock, psychedelic adventures, searing guitars, dark chaos, and experimental elements. It’s a wild ride, folks. The vocals may take a little getting used to, but there’s plenty on this double LP set (or single CD) to keep a listener engaged and comong back for repeat listens. The band proper is Marcus Holmström playing keyboards, Moog, and Mellotron; bassist Jon Klintö, who doubles on acoustic guitar, whispers, and throat singing; drummer / percussionist Alexander Eriksson who also plays the glockenspiel and sings; and Sebastian Eriksson playing guitar, sitar, Mellotron, synthesizers, percussion, and singing. Guests contribute additional guitars, keyboards, vocals, and flute to this track or that; there’s definitely a lot going on in their sound. The band formed in 2012 and offered their debut A True Image of the Infinite Mind a couple years later; the band released their second album Hypnagogia in 2019 and it was reissued by Black Widow (2LP, CD) a year later, and the latest album under review here, Hologram, was released by the band in 2021 and reissued by Black Widow in 2024. A quick look at the band’s Bandcamp page will show that they are constantly releasing single tracks — in fact about half of the tracks forst came to life as single cuts, and some of the new singles that are populating their page are probably destined for their next record. Some tracks of note include the side-long epics “Possession” and “Katia,” which are extended multi-sectional complex compositions that seem to be evolving on an ever-changing course with surprises around every corner, and “Lucid Parasitosis” where they introduce the sitars and flute in a spacy mysterium. The ten-minute title track closes the album, a dark and powerful vocal piece with a brilliant guitar driven instrumental section with manic drums. So what does this all sound like? At different times, one might recall elements of Godspeed You! Black Eemperor, Hawkwind, Amon Düül II, Motorpsycho, and many others. Your best bet is to use the link below to jump over to the listen page and check it out for yourself.

Filed under: Reissues, 2024 releases, 2021 recordings

Related artist(s): Khadavra

More info
http://sound.blackwidow.it/artist.php?id=Hologram

 

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