Epos

That's probably the one thing most metalheads like about metal and what keeps us coming back is that, regardless of what we've heard and how good we may think it is or may have been, beyond it, somewhere just a blink away, is a record that is better than your last best find just waiting to be dusted off and given the ritual-treatment for a spin on the turntable. Darkestrah put out Epos approximately 13 years ago as their 3rd full-length, here now in 2020 it reemerges in the line of sight for those who dare sit docile as its black waves' currents pull you beyond the safety of the sea shore. Would you believe black metal could be so harsh yet so beautiful at the same time; if no, take a chance and listen to the wails of a submerged soul trapped by the beauty of things condemned beneath the sea. Sparkling with glory and delight, yet within its bosom of pleasures lies a beast whose siren bedazzles the ear and entrances the soul. From waltzing in its world of wonders to being just another thing stuck between its monstrous teeth but still struck and stunned by awe as you are being devoured, your essence is now but a star lost to the infinity of the deep. Postured as an Epic black metal undertaking, Epos as a full length seems like laughter and giggles to the weary attempts of other bands trying desperately to achieve even a speck of relevance while toiling in vain to sound interesting, only to be defeated by an entity not even remotely bothered, much more aware of their presence.

To the sounds folk metal, warring pagan black metal machinery and the elegance of melodies sounding as though they were crafted by an outcast village witch, in just above 33 minutes tells of Darkestrah's patience with music and their elder-esque handling of forces familiar to many but mastered by few. Just as the sea is with humongous waves pushing intrusively upon the shore at its tidal peak, this one song builds a momentum ever intensifying taking the listener from a passive state to one of sudden dread that builds from its whispering malice to a fluorescent burst of Scandanivian black conflagration. Vocals tear, riffs play in fiery dance with the blast of the snare, altogether with a melody that both swings a sword admonishing onlookers and afflicting those daring enough to stand in the path of its manic yet magical display.

Soulful black metal is perhaps the best phrase one could apply to Darkestrah's work on Epos. Offering just enough to keep the replay button activated as the listener hopes to fetch something new in its net cast into this sea of mystifying yet dangerous tranquility. Risen to provide a lot more than just the average landscapes or to be consistent, seascapes, Darkestrah's folky water-work has brought us Epos, a 33 minute sonic oceanic rapture. Irresistible entropy, enlightenment all the same, an enveloping encore.

It was always going to take a mammoth effort to reach the heights that the previous full-length achieved. 'Embrace Of Memory' was what really kick-started the Darkestrah career, despite having already released an album before it, 'Sary Oy'. When one takes into consideration the length of previous Darkestrah songs, maybe I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was when I discovered that 'Epos' was a one track album. However, despite evidence hinting that Darkestrah are not new to long songs, I didn't think for one second that 'Epos' would be a one track album. I must admit I was sceptical when I first pressed play on 'Epos'. Limiting an album to one song is a huge risk on the part of Darkestrah. Basically, to be clichéd here, Darkestrah were putting all their eggs into one basket.


'Epos', the track itself, couldn't have been more surprising if it had tried. The opening of the crashing waves was a little clichéd, but enjoyable. I'm a fan of samples being used on songs. From rain, howling wind or even crashing waves. They, to me, represent the calm before the storm. In the case of 'Epos' that is exactly what I believe they are meant to represent. 'Epos' is simply about showcasing musical development. That is in terms of the actual song and the band whom have grown musically together. 'Epos' begins slowly and gradually transcends into a terrific mesh of mayhem and melody. Despite being quite surprised by the approach of Darkestrah, 'Epos' is similar to the previous album in several ways. The vocals, brought to us by Kriegtalith, are similar to how they previously were. Of course, as one might expect, there are a few differences. The technical ability of Kriegtalith is superb. Female vocals aren't to everybody's liking and as a female vocalist leading this band, Kriegtalith has to perform to a much higher level than male vocalists.


The female voice isn't exactly equipped for dark, deep and distressful grunts, but Kriegtalith manages to pull off a fine performance at the helm. Her vocals are up to the standard that one might expect from a leader and that's what she is, a leader. Her vocals aren't exactly typical of black metal, but that's a good thing. They have a rasping edge, but they are well worthy of leading a band. Black metal vocalists have a habit of either being lost behind the music, or overshadowing the music. In the case of Darkestrah, neither is a problem. There are long passages when vocals play no part at all. On the odd occasion there are male vocals brought into affect. These come in the form of chants, setting up an entirely different atmosphere than the rasping vocals do. Ever-changing soundscapes are a theme throughout. Darkestrah play on many moods during 'Epos'. The emotive side to their game is never the same throughout, it's innovative due to the fact that it changes several times during the album, as I mentioned.


The guitars have a massive affect on the soundscapes, as one would imagine. The tremolo picking formula is on offer, but it's not the same throughout. The multi-dimensional aspect of 'Epos' is what keeps it interesting for the audience and with the use of operative instruments such as, the cello, Darkestrah weave in and out of emotive soundscapes with class. The one disappointing factor of 'Epos' would be the lack of playing time the cello gets. When it's brought into the picture, it delivers on a grand scale. The emotive sound the cello possesses is undeniable and it suits the style of 'Epos' massively. Especially when it's played side by side with acoustic parts. The bass also has a huge affect on the darker emotional aspect of Darkestrah. It's deep sound is pivotal to the audience as it connects the other instruments together in sound. There is a definite folk feel to Darkestrah's music. The use of the cello adds to pagan/folk vision of the band. All in all, 'Epos' is a worthy contender for album of the year.

Darkestrah: EPOS (2007)
No Colours Records

With Norway's Black Metal dominance waning, other regions have taken up their banners to express themselves in the Black Metal ideology.

One region of the world which has suffered a lack of input has been those of Islamic origins. We've had Melechesh in Israel, but they moved quickly from Black Metal to Blackened Death, so they can't be included (in my opinion). We lack Black Metal utilising non-European Pagan influences, but we are slowly seeing this change.

In recent years, a horde by the name of Darkestrah have risen from their homeland of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, creating a series of excellent and original works incorporating their Shamanic influences, but remaining quite deeply underground.

Their home country is landlocked and mountainous, bordering Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and the People's Republic of China to the southeast. Kyrgyzstan means the "Land of Forty Tribes" and has around a 75% Muslim population. A country filled with valleys and basins, their weather is divided from ice old storms in the north, to tropical summers in the south.


Brief background of the Kyrgyz people (thanks Wikipedia).

Kyrgyz history dates back to 201 BC. The early Kyrgyz lived in the upper Yenisey River valley, central Siberia. The discovery of the Pazyryk and Tashtyk cultures show them as a blend of Turkic and Iranian nomadic tribes. Chinese and Muslim sources of the 7th–12th centuries AD describe the Kyrgyz as red-haired with fair complexion and green (blue) eyes."

Most Kyrgyz are Muslims. Islam was first introduced by Arab traders who travelled along the Silk Road in the seventh and eight century, but was embraced superficially by the Kyrgyz. Muslim rituals were grafted onto Shamanistic rituals, and the Kyrgyz prayed only when the Mullah came to conduct sermons.

Shamanism is still practiced alongside with Islam in the Central, and to a lesser extent the northern regions of Kyrgyzstan. Certain segments of the Kyrgyz in China are followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

In a Black Metal context, both ideologically and musically, it is the Kyrgyz shamanic aspect we are interested in: where Norsk Black Metal’s “ethnic philosophy” predates Christianity with Paganism and Asatru/Odinism, Darkestrah’s vision predates Islamic rule over their homeland to concentrate on Paganism and Shamanism.

Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. Its practitioners claim the ability to diagnose and cure human suffering and, in some societies, the ability to cause suffering. Shamans have been credited with the ability to control the weather, divination, the interpretation of dreams, astral projection, and travelling to upper and lower worlds.


Epos – the album.

In previous recordings, Darkestrah have utilised more ethnic influences with their works, including their lyrical focus, artwork, instruments used, and also scalic aspects of their music itself. With Epos (in comparison to their earlier works) the ethnic influence has been lessened, or depending on your personal interpretation, more intelligently used.

Epos starts off starts off with the ambient sounds of small waves lapping on the shore of a well known lake in Kyrgyzstan known as Issyk-Kul (in the Kyrgyz language means “warm lake”).

Issyk-Kul is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, but never freezes. This aspect of the lake is reflected on this album: the production is actually of dark warmth, an almost “milky” guitar sound is clearly audible, and somehow the overall crispness also retains this character. I found this to be a very strong aspect of this recording which lends Epos quite a unique atmosphere as far as Black Metal production values go.

Epos seems to be divided into two movements, with the first movement being a prelude to the second. The water ambience blends into the first movement, providing a slow building, but mid to fast paced build up to the highlight of the album (being the second movement).

At the transition to the second movement, we hear the fall of light rain and echoes of distant thunder. It is here that the slow build up finally opens, akin to the very rain we hear: non-Western scales are used in combination with percussive drumming patterns and they work very effectively to provide a tribal, shamanistic celebration under a blinding full moon on the lakes shores, complete with a gypsy style acoustic melody which later explodes into mid-paced Black Metal fury. Closing your eyes in this moment, you can imagine a small group of pagans under the full moon, dancing with abandon around a fire, celebrating their love of nature and their land.

About a third of the way through the second movement, we hear something quite new for Darkestrah: the usage of Cellos. In what I find a beautifully intelligent act of musicianship, the cellos almost echo the waves lapping of the lake’s shores in the beginning of the album. It provides a beautiful, almost visual aid to the legend of Issyk-Kul.

The entire album, when one considers the background of Kyrgyzstan and their pagan past, is a beautiful and powerful ode to the lake of Issyk-Kul: soaring minor key tremolos paint the vision of highly arcing mountain peaks, laden with shining night-time snow, while the cellos represent the still dark lake below them. It is a truly ingenious idea which the band has embarked upon, and one which works really well.

One thing which is extremely noticeable on this album is the increased musicianship of the each band member. The band is much more cohesive than ever before, and so too are Kriegtalith’s vocals stronger than ever before, perhaps even challenging the female grim vocal throne currently held by Angela Gossow. Without a doubt though, Kriegtalith is the undisputed queen of female vocals in Black Metal. On Epos, she is simply outstanding.

Every aspect of Epos signifies a spiritual, almost pre-historic journey. The album is thick with Pagan themes, but it is not done in a way which seems almost cliché in Black Metal these days. Darkestrah’s approach to pagan expression this time has been one of using subtlety to convey power of expression.

On what they began with their previous outing, Embrace of Memory, Darkestrah have truly come of age, showing on both Embrace of Memory and here on Epos a remarkably steep maturation in song writing, creativity and instrumentation. A stellar album which I feel has proven Darkestrah a strong force to be reckoned with for years to come.

10/10

Official Website: http://www.darkestrah.vze.com/
No Colours Records: http://www.no-colours-records.de/