As one of the longest-running black metal acts in Greece, these days Kawir have earned themselves a suitable cult status and the honour of being the originators of a very prolific scene. The band never made it to the big magazines and open air festivals (unlike Rotting Christ) -- a fact that has actually cemented Kawir's reputation as a true underground collective.

2008 sees the band closely following their own formula, crafted more than a decade ago: extreme music in honour of the Greek deities of old. This is a mid-paced and highly melodic brand of black metal with a clear crisp sound and competent songwriting... but not thoroughly impressive.

While tracks like the opening "Moirae" or the overtly epic "Poseidon" manage the balance between galloping pace, buzzing black riffs and slower moments of folk-tinged harmonies well, many of the other songs simply drag along with very little variation and indeed very few interesting moments. As of now, there are innumerable similar bands, employing the very same combination of speedy guitars and dreamy (read -- rather cheap sounding) keyboards, so the album predictably enters the territory of eternal boredom. As veterans, Kawir should have known better than to rely on such commonly used practice and cheesy dramatism in tracks such as "To Pallas" and "Ares". At least half of the material on _Ophiolatreia_ is an uninspired, mediocre slab of black metal we could have done without.