Formed earlier this year, Norwegian act Khonsu have made a debut album that dwarfs most other newcomers’ attempts in 2012.
Upon first listening, with no preconceptions or information on the band, you’d think this is the fine work of some mysterious supergroup. But you’d be wrong; it’s the Grønbech brothers. If you’re familiar with Keep Of Kalessin, you might be saying “hold on a second, that name rings a bell” and that’s because Arnt. O Grønbech’s brother is the main man. Alongside vocalist Thebon (Keep Of Kallessin, Hellish Outcast) the duo have created a very special debut.
With Khonsu, Mr S. Grønbech takes care of all instrumental duties. The outcome of his involvement is special. Simply put, ‘Anomalia’ is fantastic.
Khonsu have Gojira-like precision with Arcturus experimentalism and a jagged industrial edge. This unlikely cohesion is as blissful as it is ambitious. The technical riffage of the Norwegian act is syphoned through unbelievably high-standard production values, making this debut come to life. Shined up with fiddly keyboard parts and quirky time-signatures, the duo leave no stone unturned; if it adds to the atmosphere, do it. ‘Inhuman States’ has a tranquilising mix of huge industrial riffs, strange mumbling sound samples, groove-ridden verses and clean singing over blastbeating that any Opeth fan would appreciate. ‘The Malady’ affirms that they’ve given clear thought about their words too with a big electronic industrial soundscape to put the darkness of the lyrics in perfect context. ‘Va Shia’ ends the album brilliantly with some clean yet proggy electric guitar, low, shamanistic vocalising and those hard-nosed verses of groove riffs. Newcomer of the year? They may well be.
8.5/10
Anomalia is out now on Season of Mist.
You’ll like this if… you enjoy walking down the street without knowledge of what’s around the next corner.
http://soundshock.net/index.php/cd-reviews/4381-khonsu-anomalia-review
Black Hole Paradise 
Arnt. O Grønbech isn’t the vocalist though, Thebon (Torbjørn Schei) is. Sure S. Gronbech (Obsidian’s brother) is the other half of the band, doing pretty much everything instrumentally, however it is not a brother project.
Thanks for pointing that out Havok16. I wasn’t given a press release for this debut and you’re absolutely right, it is Thebon. I’ve mended the mistake. Hope it didn’t detract too much from the positive review! Thanks.
No problem, just thought I’d mention it. Especially since Khonsu actually linked this review on their Facebook page – therefore you were likely to get a little more traffic to see the mistake.