REVIEW: Kensei destroy with razor-sharp With Death I Walk
There’s something brewing in the Black Country right now, but Kensei are showing the world that it isn’t just the beer. After bulldozing the Birmingham Metal 2 The Masses in 2024 and destroying their slot at Bloodstock Festival - hopefully the first of many - their first full-length outing is a confident, tightly-wound assault that blends razor sharp melodeath with the heft of 00s metalcore.
Possibly the biggest pit the New Blood Stage saw in 2024
The ominous Intro sets the scene like an oncoming storm before End of Days makes its entrance with impact, crushing the listener with thrashy, harmonised riffing and tasty drum fills. Vocalist Dave wastes little time snarling venomously across the verse, with a big melodic chorus and a blistering breakdown that’ll see a future bruise or two in the pit. As album openers go, this one lays the foundations well. It's a real statement of intent.
Lucid, which follows, might just be the crown jewel here. Its Phrygian-flavoured riffing brings an Eastern quality to the sonic mayhem. Dave balances aggression and melody with a Killswitch-esque bite, and the chorus lands with genuine power and conviction. Guitarists Matt and Ian are allowed to flex with class, showing serious flair but also real discipline in the solo sections. Kensei fire on all cylinders on this banger, and it's not hard to see why it's a long-standing live favourite.
Paralysis keeps up the energy with frenetic riffing, vicious vocals and slamming double bass, developing into an impressive Trivium-style lead guitar solo, while the melodic The Light feels like the emotional centrepiece of the album. Longer, more expansive, and laid out with deliberation, there’s real passion in Dave's vocal delivery, and the progressive touches give it weight without drifting off course.
No Remorse takes a sharp turn after its soft piano/orchestral intro, kicking in with thrashy, Lamb of God-inspired riffs. The chorus hook of “there comes a time you must say goodbye with no remorse” is deceptively simple, but really hits hard over the strong melodic undercurrent. Later in the song, Kensei throw in a brilliant old school breakdown to bring out the stank faces (and widen a few pits), with a flashy guitar lead underscoring how central their technical chops are to the sound.
Up next, Pariah's thrashy metalcore doesn’t overstay its welcome, coming in sharp and direct, while Nodachi grooves a little more, letting the album breathe without dropping the punch. There's still plenty of bite, and you can already picture the pit carnage when it drops live.
The melodic - yet slamming - title track With Death I Walk finally rounds things out with a real sense of built up drama, going from tension to a rewarding payoff. The guitars use some clever chord voicings, the chorus feels like a last stand, and the powerful finale concludes things just openly enough that you’ll be heading back in for another go soon enough...
If you're into Trivium, At The Gates, or early BFMV, Kensei might be the band you need to watch this year. This debut shows polish, hunger and enough range to prove they stand leagues above what you might typically expect from a UK metalcore band with a live show built for pits. Nope, these boys are ones to keep tabs on, no question.
All members really play their part. The drumming is tight, punchy and technical, while the riffs and leads are electric and are interesting to listen to, whether or not you play guitar or bass. Dave's intense, impassioned vocals shine on every track, every line delivered with something 'real'. This is a metal band that's greater than the sum of its parts.
An impressive debut album that leaves you demanding a follow-up...
Highlights: Lucid, No Remorse
With Death I Walk is out now
MN
Comments
Post a Comment