Introducing: KEVA

From deep within the Savoie region in the heart of the French Alps comes a dark fusion of drum and bass and nu-metal that the exciting duo KEVA describe as “violent, tormented, and hybrid.”

Keva is formed of two artists living in the Savoie mountains, instrumentalist Guillaume Martinez, who’s also known as No Quiet, and vocalist Max Rage, also known as Maxime Ginolin. The duo first met through their work in cinema video production and short film creation, which took them on a mission to film a documentary about wildlife trafficking in Gabon.

As Maxime explains: “During our journey, we had the incredible opportunity to be welcomed by a small village deep in the jungle, where the locals have a religious tradition of honoring and communicating with spirits by connecting to a sacred tree known as the Kevazingo. Unfortunately, this protected tree is also heavily trafficked. The locals commonly refer to it as Keva. When we returned from our journey, we decided to name our band KEVA.”

Together, the duo have crafted a powerful and diverse sound that blends a range of musical genres, including rock, grunge, electro and metal.

Our first taste of this was The Antidote, which was released last month. It opens up with lively synths and electronic beats that gradually intensify as vocals creeps in, and explodes into heavy vocals over powerful instrumentals. A stabbing guitar riff as engaging fast-paced vocals take over, and the pace drops before some blastbeat drums set up another heavy chorus. Intense stabbing instrumentals support some eerie vocals, before flying into wild vocals. Another big chorus gives way to atmospheric instrumentals to bring the track to an engaging conclusion.

On the track, Maxime told us: “So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve been receiving messages from people all over saying they love the explosive and crazy energy of our music. Even some who don’t typically listen to rock have added our tracks to their playlists and are really into it. One thing to know about The Antidote is that it’s the official soundtrack of an upcoming action web series of the same name. The show follows a former trader on a personal vendetta against the system.”

That’s been followed by Akasha, which was released on Friday (28 March). It starts with a building electronic noise that drops into a crushing guitar riff, powerful synths and doomy drums. Engaging vocals take over and drop into an atmospheric section with distant backing vocals, before a big chorus that ends with a return of the powerful opening instrumentals. A piercing guitar lick and off-kilter drum’n’bass take over before a cool stabbing riff with haunting distant synths, which sets up a powerful outro.

On the track, Maxime said: “Akasha is a tribute to Anne Rice’s vampire character and the film Queen of the Damned. The song has a dark, dripping, gothic atmosphere.” Check it out here:

Both those tracks follow debut single NOISY 2000, which is a little less intense and combines catchy vocals with slightly mellower electronic instrumentals.

The KEVA sound has been influenced by artists like Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Wargasm, Noisia, Rob Zombie, Korn, Mick Gordon, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Static-X and Atari Teenage Riot. “KEVA was born from our deep commitment to exposing injustices and shedding light on dark, often-overlooked issues that reflect the harsh realities of modern society,” Maxime told us.

“We address the absurdity and superficiality of social media, the political and environmental catastrophes the world is facing, as well as personal pain and trauma drawn from our own experiences. Above all, we aim to create the kind of music we wish existed but that we don’t hear anywhere else.”

There’s plenty more to come from KEVA, starting with their next single release Between Hell and Heaven, which will be about the suffering of a traumatized child and features a music video that takes inspiration from Pearl Jam’s Jeremy. They’re also working on recording new music and plan to start playing live shows soon.

You can follow KEVA on Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.