Al-Namrood - Astfhl Al Tha'r (2009)

Playing very basic and raw Black Metal, today we have all the way from Saudi Arabia Al-Namrood and their debut album “Astfhl Al Tha’r”. While anybody would agree that the band’s Black Metal is very basic, the cool thing about it is the Middle Eastern influences on it reflected in the keyboards and atmosphere generated through this release.

Opening with “A’hd al Jahiliyah”, the band’s hellish vocals take the spotlight and then the keyboards start to seep into your brain. The music is raw and simple, the percussions are very basic but the atmosphere is just completely different to what we are used to. This does get a bit annoying at times due to the high-repetition of sections in this trac, but it is also very cool indeed. The
Doom-ier approach in “Ebadt al Basahr” and the considerably better drums make this song a big improvement from the first one. The Middle Eastern influences are also very evident in this track.

There are plenty of very eerie atmospheric passages that will help you forget how basic the music really is, and on tracks like “Naqoos Alkhatar” they nicely transport the listener. Our favorite track is the crushing “Ya’jooj Wa Ma’jool” and its hellish atmosphere. Al-Namrood is very good at creating haunting melodies and with some of the riffing being very different from you traditional BM, they sound quite interesting.

Not all being nice and melodic, the band can go full steam on some passages and unleash all their fury like on “Seher Aswad”. This same cavernous sound reminds us a bit of Sepultura in the “Schizophrenia” days. Closing with more middle eastern influences just leaves the door open for many exciting things to come in the future from this band.

If you are looking for something raw and crushing but with a different atmosphere, look nor further and acquire this fine release. The band has great potential and as long as they don’t become the next Orphaned Land or something that pretentious, they will be releasing disturbing albums for years to come.

Release: May 1st, 2009

Country: Saudi Arabia