
Këkht Aräkh – Pale Swordsman
Pressing ‘play’ and the album begins… I hear the melancholy and the vibe of longing for something in the music almost immediately
Pressing ‘play’ and the album begins… I hear the melancholy and the vibe of longing for something in the music almost immediately
The six tracks account for about seventeen minutes of runtime, every second of which twists and turns your psyche in delightfully disturbing ways.
This demo is a truly excellent example of creating meaning and emotion within objectively difficult music.
There is really a lot going on here, yet the eight tracks remain (mostly) within the confines of Raw Black Metal as a distinct subgenre.
“Raw black metal is not for everyone, of course, but its strength lies in its ambiguity.”
Through the extra time allowed on a full length, the artist really spreads their wings, taking the time to develop each feeling, each howl, each riff, each drum stroke.
Primarily mid-paced in rhythms and riffing, predominate on Dakhalè, drawing the listener down into hypnotic contemplation.
The final product is gripping, painful to behold, and wonderfully cathartic.
Pessimista works first and foremost from a thematic base of DSBM, though stylistically, I find a lot of raw influences present as well (though not Raw, if you understand the difference).