Well observed if you guessed correctly that this is a disc from somewhere other than an English speaking country. It’s great getting albums from far flung places that you would not expect anything metal related to derive from, even more so when they are drenched in the ethnicity of their region. Grieving Age from Saudi Arabia were one such example of a band who I discovered and was completely blown away by at the tail end of last year and now before me I have Narjarhanam from Bahrain a country that according to Metal Archives has spawned but 10 bands from the genre, only five including this lot currently active. Naturally it must be a bit of a difficult task making this sort of music in a country that is going to be so restrictive and getting it out there is no doubt just as tricky. Thankfully Russian label Haarbn must have seen the talent at work behind what I guess is a secretive closed doors project and done just that.
The two people behind Narjarhanam are Mardus and Busac who are also active in death / black band Smouldering In Forgotten. What they have put together here is a fantastically rich and commanding hours-worth of symphonically orchestrated music bordering on both sub genres but littered with traditional sounds at every step of the way. So many groups do pepper their work with some of the traditional spices and flavours of their homeland but here it is pretty much constant and it really adds to the whole bombastic experience. Track titles and all that can go out the window, they are provided in Arabic as well as English but it is best to just listen to this as one long symphony as it unspools with fascinating intrigue and mystery every step of the way.
Vocals are gruff commanding barks and the rhythmic thrust of the music is powerful as it swaggers along, backed by choral voices. How far the band have come since their previous 2007 album I am uncertain but this is an epic and mature piece of work sounding as though the pair have been at this for years, something I doubt they have been able to accomplish live either. Their name translates as Fire Of Hell and it is hot arid lands we are swept up into with drums marching like ships of the desert on a quest of adventure, perhaps they will summon a djinn from its bottle. It certainly feels as though some form of alchemical magick is about to be unleashed here and the heady atmosphere behind the music has my imagination running riot. At times you may be reminded fleetingly of acts such as Orphaned Land musically but on the whole this is pretty unique without mentioning other US acts who think it is their right to go tomb raiding places they don’t belong in. It is all really quite accessible too I can’t see anyone with an ear to a good tune not being swept away by the sandstorm dervish as the tracks literally belly dance away. It owes as much to soundtrack music as it does to metal really, especially when the instrumental parts are left to work their charm, as for the sort of film they would be included in well an epic one without a doubt and one full of adventure. As big beefy bellows and pompous sounding parts chug away it sounds like an army is marching a bit like a Middle Eastern Rotting Christ to my ears and just as powerful. If there were to be a battle this is a side well worth hedging bets on for victory.
Pretty much everything about this release including the excellent cover art oozes class and since it has turned up there has been barely a day it has not been played. If you are looking for something different and off the beaten path Narjarhanam should be your first point of call!
(8.5/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply