(Note: This is my seventh entry in my series on Middle Eastern black metal. Previous posts have centered on Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Oman.)
Comparatively speaking, the United Arab Emirates is one of the most liberal, modernized countries in the Middle East. It also has an extremely high volume of immigration, allowing for multicultural diversity and assimilation.
The Black Metal community here is very small, to the point of being incestuous, but their music is solid while retaining a raw, nasty edge.
AZAROTH – Split with Nekroforest (Azaroth/Nekroforest)
Sole band member LORD MORGOTH moved to the UAE from Turkey, bringing his distinct voice along with him. His style is rooted firmly in the Norwegian black metal sound of the early ninties, making his music sound like the unholy union of MAYHEM, DARKTHRONE and IMMORTAL. It’s very grim and cold music, but it also translates well to the wide open desert expanse of the Rub’ al Khali, an immense desert that borders the UAE to the south. Azaroth’s two blistering songs from this release can be downloaded here.
BLASPHERION – The Night Before Mourning (Blaspherion)
According to Blaspherion’s Encyclopaedia Metallum entry, the “[b]and moved to Omaha, Nebraska (USA) in early 2005. Due to problems, LORD GHOCIFER left Blaspherion and Nebraska to return to the UAE.” I’m not sure how the current lineup sounds, but these original recordings – which feature another member listed solely as DENIS – draw heavily from the Transylvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone school of hypnotic, droning, raw black metal. I also hear a bit of ULVER circa Nattens Madrigal thrown into the mix. All of this demo, aside from a cover of BURZUM‘s “War,” can be downloaded here.
NEKROFOREST – Kristian Grave (Total Death)
Nekroforest is probably my favorite band of the three. That’s sole band member DESTRUCTOR (aka HERERLOKH) pictured above. Like Azaroth, he also emigrated to the UAE from Turkey. He perfectly blends early Mayhem with Darkthrone to the point where it kinda sounds like Mayhem’s guitarist, EURONYMOUS, recorded a few tracks with Darkthrone in 1994. I actually have a hard copy of this CD (limited to 99 copies – ain’t I special?) which includes three very good original songs and an impressive cover of Mayhem’s “Deathcrush.” I couldn’t find any downloads, but you can hear all the songs on Nekroforest’s MySpace page.
