Narjahanam - Wa Ma Khufiya Kana A’atham (2013)

Out now on Russian label Haarbn Productions, today we have Narjahanam and their sophomore release “Wa Ma Khufiya Kana A’atham”. This two man beast of a band hails from Baharain and crafts some seriously atmospheric Middle-Eastern themed Black/Death Metal, rivaling acts like Melechesh and AlNamrood. We are quite impressed with the quality behind this this release and how it engages the listener with its lush atmospheric undertones.

Building a very dramatic momentum with the opener album titled track, they set a very mysterious shroud around this whole release thanks to their atmospheric arrangements. Quickly establishing their band’s power, Mardus and Busca, craft very melodic tracks like “Kahf Al Khulood” and “Qudoom Al Sultan” keeping the listener engaged while still processing their unique sound.

Things continue to get interesting with the mystical “Rimal Al Zaman” and its interesting tempo changes. It is relevant to know that the drums are programmed, but this is quite hard to tell without paying clinical attention to them. As one of our biggest pet-peeves when they are bad, the band nicely structures their music on top of very solid and diverse drum structures like on “Symphonyat Al Mowt” and the hypnotic “Ma Baina Al Thulumat”.

As the album keeps getting better and better with each song, our personal favorite is the super catchy “Sulaiman” and its very cool atmospheric elements. Closing with the lush 9-minute “Kitab Al Tuqoos”, this release really demonstrates the brilliant ideas and hard-work of Narjahanam. The expertly crafted 11-tracks presented in this album will greatly impress any fan of Middle-Eastern inspired music and the hordes of Black/Death Metal maniacs in the world.

Label: Haarbn Productions

Release: 2013

Genre: Black/Death Metal

Country: Baharain