While they’re busy sharpening their blades in the studio, KEEP OF KALESSIN are taking stock of their treasured discography. The Norwegian pioneers of epic extreme metal are reissuing several albums through their new label Season of Mist. And they’re starting with one of their most decorated crown jewels.

While forged from their ironclad brand of melodic black metal, Kolossus elevated Keep of Kalessin to a higher field of battle. Their colossal fourth album not only cracked the Top 20 of the Norwegian Albums Chart. It also crowned the band with their second Spellemannprisen nomination.

The reissue of Kolossus will be out February 14th, 2025 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/kokkolossus

Even Norwegian legends aren’t immune to metal’s epidemic lineup changes. With the departure of Frost and Atilla, even those who’ve followed the band through times of war might’ve feared that Keep of Kalessin had been mortally wounded ahead of their fourth album.

Of course, Keep of Kalessin rose to the occasion. Backed by a new wizard on bass, an Internet sensation behind the drum throne and their fearless axeman of a leader Arnt Obsidian, the band fortified their prominent position amongst the hallowed halls of Norwegian metal with Kolossus. Guitar solos slice like long swords; double bass pounds with all the relentless fury of a war drum, while the acoustic polish and symphonic flurries only extend the scope of their epic artillery.

“My name will spawn legends”, vocalist Thebon screams, going down in a blaze of glory during the album’s ascendant grand finale.

Even amongst their many treasures, Kolossus still shines as one of Keep of Kalessin’s crown jewels.

More praise for Keep of Kalessin:

“Keep of Kalessin’s two-decade journey has been one of constant evolution…What has remained constant, though, is the band’s sense of ambition and epic scale” – Metal Hammer

“By emphasizing songwriting that skewed towards the epic and often incorporated symphonic and progressive elements alongside huge, polished production values, they offered a sound that felt like it spanned just about every aspect of metal but managed to pull it together in a seamless manner – Metal Trenches

“Totally turned black metal on its head” – Metal Sucks

After the band’s original lineup split up, founding member and guitarist Arnt Obsidian served as Satyricon’s live guitarist from 2002 until 2007. He played hundreds of shows with the Norwegian black metal legends, including headlining Wacken Open Air in 2004.

It was through this fortuitous partnership that Keep of Kalessin reunited. Obsidian was joined by Frost for the 2003 Reclaim EP, which also features Atilla Csihar from Mayhem. Like all good things, this lineup did come to an end, but the band was far from done.

In fact, Keep of Kalessin came back in a big way during the mid-2000s. Experimenting with piano, keyboards and synthesizers earned the band’s next two albums, Armada (2006) and Kolossus (2008), nominations in the metal category at the Norwegian Grammy Awards.

Then in 2010, Keep of Kalessin shocked the world by becoming the first metal band to compete for Norway’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song “The Dragontower” finished third during the national final. That same year, the band released their fifth album Reptilian, which peaked at #2 on the Norwegian national charts.

After 30 years, Keep of Kalessin have built themselves into an enduring live force. They’ve toured with Satyricon, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Exodus and many other acclaimed acts. After five years of extensive touring, the band put out another impressive album in 2015’s Epistemology.

While Keep of Kalessin soon faced the challenge of replacing their longtime drummer Vyl Larsen, the Internet helped them find an excellent replacement. Wanja Gröger is a long-time fan of the band whose amazing drumming skills are recognized all across the globe thanks to his popular YouTube channel. After an initial tour in 2019, Gröger became a full-time member of the band ahead of their latest album.

Metalheads may have written Keep of Kalessin off after receiving no album from them in eight years, but 2023’s Katharsis was named Album of the Month in Norway’s prestigious Scream Magazine. The band premiered the whole album during a titanic mainstage performance on board 70,000 Tons of Metal.

This year, Keep of Kalessin signed with Season of Mist, who will release the band’s next album in 2025, along with reissues from their back catalogue.