A new dawn for many things is rising now in the Middle East,
and with turmoil and progress, oppression and release of oppression… comes
metal. An extreme scene is growing amongst the youth, who constitute an
estimated fifty percent of the population. These youth are growing up in a time
when populaces galore break chains and force change, and as such it is
impossible not to be caught up in the currently extreme politics of the region.
Will this new, politically affected subculture define itself from the
metalheads in our homes, far away from all the wars and severely orthodox
religious traditions? It’s true - with freedom comes metal, but freedom is an
ever-ongoing process, and this is a part of the world that has previously used
violence and persecution against metalheads. But still, from Morocco to Iran
original bands are receiving attention both nationally from their societies in
varied ways and internationally in terms of fame and anthropology. This is the first
of three articles that will contain three double reviews looking at the latest
efforts of Arabic extreme metallers from the UAE, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, a mere
sliver of the happenings in the burgeoning scene, but also hopefully a doorway
for some.
First up is the United Arab Emirates which is home to a
fledgling death metal scene, helped along by bignames Nervecell being based
there, whose technical death/thrash albums have seen international popularity
in recent years. The two latest death metal records this year are both debuts:
Perversion’s Pillars of the Enlightened and Nephelium’s Coils of
Entropy.
Perversion – Pillars of the Enlightened
Perversion play down-the-line brutal death metal. You get
the sense this band is all about having fun, the way they’re content not to
push any kind of musical boundary, and by how they refer to their fans as
‘perverts’. I imagine they are probably
better viewed as a live band, because this debut offers little in the way of
interest for a seasoned metalhead. The band plays with competent skill and the
album has decent production too, but there is just nothing here to define any
kind of character, and, as a record, Pillars of the Enlightened blends
into the formidable mass of copycat death albums that have been being churned
out since the mid-90s. There are some banging riffs here and there and the odd
bit of vocal quality when it strays to something less conventional than your
ordinary low-pitched growl, but in general it’s just so textbook that you can
listen to the album again and again and not come away remembering a single
hook. It’s a bit like a watered-down Dying Fetus or Suffocation, lacking the technical skill.
Tracks four and five end in almost exactly the same way – reverbed guitar solos
flipping back to very similar theme riffs – which makes it look like these guys
are even copying themselves! If you’re rich as fuck and having a holiday in Bur
Dubai, it might be worth checking out one of Perversion’s gigs, but as far as
buying a CD goes, head back into the collection and pick out Effigy of the
Forgotten or Destroy the Opposition.
In short: Death metal that’s so generic I just don’t know
what else to say about it… I just don’t have much time for this album.
Standout tracks: I guess Ones of the Beyond has a
pretty sweet riff in it.
Score: 4.5
Nephelium – Coils of Entropy
Once again there is nothing truly new going on here, but Nephelium
have chosen to tread the beaten path in a more individual way than Perversion.
First of all, song structure is really quite epic and interesting; with Malediction
going for nine minute and the final song lasting a full ten. Musicianship
is really very impressive on every instrument, and it’s especially nice to see
the bass getting to have a bit of a say from time to time. The album is
non-stop brutality, for sure, but there is satisfactory variation: plenty of time
signature changes, some prolonged and impressive solos, slower moments of
respite nicely interchanged with lightening fast arpeggios, and other treats.
Middle Eastern influence is hinted at especially in the closing monster that
bears the title of the album. It is
indeed a complex work that needs multiple listens to fully fathom. I like
Nephelium best when they trade their blistering technical intensity for dirtier
or groovier riffs, but as a whole the album definitely works. They really do
break out some lethal lines from time to time that result in automatic
head-nodding – Halls of Judgement just kills it towards the end! I also
like the way that despite their musical prowess, Nephelium do not fall into the
realms of wankery like Necrophagist or other acclaimed bands, but keep it nice
and crushing for us, even when they’re shredding.
Quibbles? The vocals don’t stand out at all, leaving us with
a semi pig squeal that’s been used indistinguishably from hundreds and hundreds
of other bands. A few riffs contain little character, taken straight from the
annals of early Deicide (although consider that almost the entire album is far
more technical than that). Apart from that, the only thing I could comment on
is that I sense Nephelium have an as yet not fully tapped sense of innovation.
Coils of Entropy is Nephelium’s first release in
eight years and it is a work of mature song-writing and musical prowess. These
days, the band doesn’t actually reside in the UAE (they’re now in Canada),
though the two UAE nationals, Alan and Alex, are worthy of standing up to the
death metal scene on an international scale; great musicians who have attracted
other skilled artists, and will most likely continue to do so. Potential is
something rarely realized, but these guys are loaded with it and should be kept
under close supervision by any fan of brutal death metal.
In short: An impressive debut full-length. It has style,
depth and know-how. If you crave epic brutal death metal, do not miss it!
Standout tracks: Halls of Judgement, Coils of
Entropy
Score: 8.0
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