Any band purporting to be from a country you wouldn’t expected metal, never mind extreme metal, from will always catch my attention. However, there is some controversy and debate as to whether this band actually does hail from Iraq as is reported, with some reports saying the band is from France. Indeed, my research took me to various articles about metal bands claiming to be from certain countries only to find they are not though I won’t name them here, but my research was enough to put in doubt that this band is actually from Iraq, now whether this means they were from Iraq but now reside elsewhere is up for debate as I’ll leave you to do your own research; only the duo, Shukri and Shahram, can confirm or deny this, if you believe them that is.
So, for this review I am going to say their location is unknown and concentrate on the music at hand, as previously the band has released two albums and an EP, all of which are primitive raw black metal capturing the core of the lo-fi approach but modernising the sound so that it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in some stone pit with no acoustics whatsoever. Mulla tick all the right boxes for me within the raw black metal genre, repetitive droning riffing, a sub-zero atmosphere and barbaric vocals set within fairly lengthy tracks. However, for their third album, whose title loosely translates as ‘Genie’ (it is their use of Arabic in their song titles that has brought about the suspicions of their location I might add), the band has opted to construct two colossal double-digit monstrosities clearing the 35-minute barrier in total.
‘أحلام الجني’ is the 16-minute opener which begins with clichéd rumbling and wolf howls alongside wind noises, though the lion noise just sounded like the MGM one just placed in and sounded stupid and is completely overdone as an intro piece. An isolated guitar riff eventually discards the intro with a piercing hook replete with a slight Arabic inflection that allows the song to develop its charisma. Old school fans of Burzum and early Darkthrone will relate to this album and their discography, the raw primitive sound backed by repetitive riffing creating a hypnotic stance as the pace is kept slow. The riff break is excellent, puncturing the track before the escalation in speed as the vocals arrive nearly seven minutes in. Their hostility and burgeoning causticity match the unfettered rawness perfectly as the song plunges into a slower piece that muffles the vocals slightly. Again, the riff change is excellent seeing the speed detonate again as the riff has that savaging crudity to it. There are tons of changes in the song, veering from slow oppression to penetrating violence as a crashing change in speed takes the song through miasmic ice giving it that edge of drama.
The nigh on 20-minute second track again has an intro piece, but much shorter thankfully as the song unveils a riffing shard that drills into the song alongside the monotone drum work, something that the album prefers, rather than any over complexity. A very cool riff break ensues that creates a barbarity and nihilism you only get with this style of black metal. Again, the vocals have that inhuman coarseness, throaty snarls as the song shows a remorseless and inexorable speed that you’ll wonder if you’re in a time loop. It takes some time for the riffing variations to materialise and as subtle as they are, they inject the song with malicious charisma especially when linked to tempo alterations. The vocals have an utter dissonant distortion to them as the song dives into a much slower piece where the guitar riff takes prominence with a slight Arabic touch to it. This second tune, has less subtlety and variation than the opener, which isn’t to say it is less engaging, instead the song has that merciless approach where repetition just beats you down again and again. The massive drop in pace 11 minutes in is a nice touch, with semi-acoustic guitar work laying the foundations for the song’s resurging riffing and speed to thrust it to its climax.
Aside of the controversy this is fine raw, old school black metal, their ability to construct tracks of such beguiling perniciousness is exceptional.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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