Premiere: Kerberos – “Near-Violence Experience”
Get Kerb-stomped, idiot
I know our readership well enough to know that if I asked what words came to mind first after hearing the phrase “operatic, neoclassical, melodic death metal” that chief among them would be things like “bad” and “cringe.” Now, I hope you all know me well enough to know that I describe something as that and tell you, “You gotta check this out,” then it’s worth a listen. With that in mind, Switzerland’s Kerberos is an operatic, neoclassical, melodic death metal band, and we’ve got a new song from them today that you should really check out.
Whichever genre descriptors you wish to attach to it, “Near-Violence Experience” sounds more like a death metal evolution of mid-’90s power prog than anything. It calls to mind Scardust (formerly Somnia) in the way it seems to take Divine Wings-era Symphony X and put its own spin on it, toning down on the prog odyssey aspect while leaning harder into the symphonic instrumentation. Having both male and female operatic vocals makes it feel more like actual theater than just about every other band that does this; it’s expertly implemented, and it shows that this is a core part of the band’s identity and not just tacked on as a novelty. Despite any misgivings you might have had up top, I hope you give this a listen; you might find your head bobbing along in spite of yourself.
With all that out of the way, here’s what the band has to say about this song:
This song represents those who have suffered non-physical abuse — especially in childhood. It had to be written because not enough people are aware that verbal and emotional treatment of others can be acts of violence with serious consequences for the victims.
Apostle to the Malevolent releases on March 14th. Check out Kerberos on Bandcamp.
