Hand of Kalliach hail from Scotland as the Celtic stylings of the band name, the title of their second album, Corryvreckan, and the presence of occasional bagpipes (or their synthesized equivalent) strongly suggest. They play a blackened, highly melodic folk metal that features a lot of atmospheric instrumentation and songwriting supporting a combination of harsh, barking rasps and ethereal clean singing. What is somewhat unique about Hand of Kalliach's approach is both vocalists tend to sing at the same time, which emphasizes their differences but also how well they work together. Songs like the pounding "Fell Reigns" and the closer, "Of Twilight and the Pyre" which opens with an absolutely beautiful vocal, are true strengths on the album. The remaining songs are powerful but somewhat generic as a lot of the clean vocals seem to be singing rather similar lines and don't do a lot to separate the songs from one another. Corryvreckan is perhaps a little weak as a stand-alone listening experience, but should excel as background music for say, fantasy gaming or other pursuits in that vein.
