Darkestrah - The Great Silk Road Review
by Mark Hensch
.
Few things in the universe better capture the essence of heavy metal than the Great Silk Road. The steppes it runs through are amongst the most barren, unforgiving places on Earth. Its paths swarm with ferocious animals and stealthy bandits, while bands of nomads war over cracked, empty soil. The very road itself, meanwhile, is built on the footsteps of many fallen souls – those who risked the Road's journey towards fabulous wealth and failed.
Such is the aura emanating from Darkestrah's transcendent four full-length, The Great Silk Road. Throughout the album's five songs, this Kyrgyzstani black metal band channels their primal heritage into a brand of epic ferocity that is a wonder to behold. As tribal percussion winds through the tracks like an uncoiling snake, chilling tremolo-melodies cut into bone like the frigid winds of the highest mountains. Completing the package is a plethora of brooding folk instruments, the likes of which maintain the mystical, chaotic spirit of their homeland. Add in hair-raising shrieks and feral growls, and one has an album equally primitive and powerful.
Opening track "The Silk Road," for example, unleashes some of the most dynamic black metal I have heard outside of Negura Bunget and Wolves in the Throne Room. Sweeping acoustic notes soar over boundless depths, all before beginning a war chant of rolling drums and whispering flutes. At last striking with its full force, "Road" marches past with militant black metal melodies, the likes of which sacrifice none of their rawness for a full-bodied polish.
"Inner Voice," in contrast, simmers with a patient intensity, its crushing riffs tempered by a pitter-patter of velvety keys. Over time, the song boils over into a seething mix of inhuman howls and blasting mania, the likes of which are amongst the album's fiercest moments.
"Cult Tengri," meanwhile, is both my favorite song and the best example of what this band can do. Beginning with a humble folk rhythm, the song launches into a passage of furious blasting which still haunts with an otherworldly melody. When the music shifts into a dance of fire and chaos mid-song, the wildness that is such a vital part of Darkestrah's sound comes storming through.
After this, "Kara-Oy" begins with Kyrgyzstani throat-chants and the region's equivalent of a violin. Soon discarding this serenity, the band stomps listeners with a mid-paced slice of epic black metal.
Ending the journey is a brief passage of latter-era Burzum ambiance, entitled "The Last Step." Though short, it makes for a fitting and surprisingly deep ending for this wonderful album.
The Great Silk Road is (much like its namesake) a long odyssey but also a rewarding one. An album of hypnotic savagery, The Great Silk Road possesses a ravenous hunger for life not unlike Negura Bunget or Kampfar. If every adventure can be traced backwards to a single step, let this album be your first.
Darkestrah's The Great Silk Road
The Silk Road
Inner Voice
Cult Tengri
Kara-Oy
The Last Step
CD Info and Links
Darkestrah - The Great Silk Road Rating:10.00
Preview and Purchase This CD Online
Visit the official homepage
More articles for this artist
tell a friend about this review
.
...end |