DARKESTRAH — Nomad (review)

Album · 2024 · Pagan Black Metal

3/5 · 2024-07-03
siLLy puPPy

Formed in 1999 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and then relocating to Leipzig, Germany, DARKESTRAH has delivered a unique strain of folk-infused black metal that stood out from the very beginning given its unorthodox infusion of Central Asian influences taking the world of Pagan black metal into completely new territory. The band led by drummer Asbath has undergone a ridiculous amount of lineup changes in its quarter century existence yet continues to sally forth like Gengis Khan conquering half of the Eurasian continent. The current year 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut release “Sary Oy” which launched DARKESTRAH onto the world’s stage of inventive black metal bravely reinventing itself in the 21st century from its second wave parent stock and in this calendar year we find the band returning after eight years with its seventh release NOMAD. The band did drop the EP “Chong-Aryk” in 2021.

The band featured the same lineup as 2016’s “Turan” only with newbie Charuk (vocals, percussion) delivers the expected mix of pagan infused black metal with frosty atmospheric backdrops, rasping vocals from beneath the din and the band’s knack for infusing traditional Kyrgyz folk sounds into the fabric of the metallic furor. DARKESTRAH has always delivered lengthy trotting tracks that emulate the procession of transversing the vast mountainous terrain and steppes of Central Asia and in that regard little has changed on NOMAD which continues the expected endless trajectory of lightning fast guitar riffing, blastbeats and moments of clean guitar contrast. The album features seven new tracks with four of them eight minutes or more. Atmospheric intros fueled with Kyrgyz folk melodies strummed on traditional instruments set the mood before the black metal bombast sets in. Throat singing technique yield to demonic black metal extremities. Yep, the DARKESTRAH formula is alive and well after all this time.

“Journey Through The Blue Nothingness” opens the album with the expected non-metal folk sequence before “Kök-Oy” begins the atmospheric black metal journey. After eight years the band is noticeably less vibrant than on past releases with the metal aspects set a bit back below the atmospheric melancholy. Likewise newbie percussionist and vocalist Charuk doesn’t seem as dynamic as former vocalists Merkith and Oldhan. Also noticeably missing are all those interesting contrasts within the tracks with most of them plodding along for their extended periods of time which makes me wonder if DARKESTRAH has finally run out of steam after two decades on the scene. The compositions are noticeably less complex in construct with simple guitar stomps punctuating a frigid atmospheric presence. Likewise the tracks don’t differ from each other as much as i would’ve expected with the title track sounding a bit too close to its predecessor. Dynamics, tempos and contrasts seem to evaporated like a life-giving water source during a drought.

This is a trend i find many long timers picking up lately. Deemphasizing the black metal intensity and setting it behind the atmospheric backdrop which now almost seems like the forefront, a sound that cheapens the overall effect and diminishes the value of the atmospheric contributions in the first place by showcasing how simplistic they are and why they are SUPPOSED to be set back in the mix. Overall DARKESTRAH has delivered a decent new slice of its classic pagan black metal with folk flavors but everything that made the band stand out all these years as been tamped down to a mere trickle and in the end this album comes off as a bit generic and lackluster. Sure the folk elements are weaved into the fabric of the music and the procession of black metal military march processions carry on but any element of surprise is sorely missing. Really the thing that bugs me most about this newest DARKESTRAH release is how the metal has been set back in the mix. It just doesn’t work for me. Add to that a rather by the books delivery of compositions and i’m not feeling the magic that this band once dished out in abundance. Despite that quibble, NOMAD is not a bad release at all even if not to my liking.