A fierce wind is blowing from the steppes once more. I hear thundering hooves on the horizon…DARKESTRAH has returned! I’ve loved this unusual band since hearing their masterpiece, The Great Silk Road, but they’ve been quiet the last few years. The silence is shattered with Nomad.

This is one of the great black metal bands, with such a memorable, time-lost sound. Only the best can conjure up a true feeling of being from another time and place and DARKESTRAH have done this like no other. Yes, the style here is similar to The Great Silk Road and Turan. I hope they never change it. Epic, mournful metal with the authentic sound of the Central Asian highlands. The way they integrate classic folk instruments into overwhelming surges of metal riffing is breathtaking.

At all times, you are aware that you are on a journey. The journey begins with gentle guitar strumming and deep-toned throat singing before exploding into ‘Kok-Oy’. This is a massive song that sweeps you away with sad, powerful riffs. The female vocalist (I believe she is new to the band…my promo didn’t bother to name the musicians, which is a shame) has a hoarse raw feel to her voice…not death metal growls, but something more shamanic. She breaks into cleans, but not very often. Most of the songs here are long epics that have discrete “movements”. For example, ‘Destroyer Of Obstacles’ starts with ferocious black metal, but the song gradually becomes sadder as waves of keys and folkish chants are added. The mixture of folk and metal here is just unreal. The title track and ‘Quest For The Soul’ are similar in general structure, but sport their own individual quirks.

The strange and moody ‘Dream Of Kojojash’ is an anomaly…shorter, slower, even more mournful, like someone lamenting the loss of an age. The album’s journey ends with the shamanic chants of ‘A Dream That Omens Death’. And what a journey it is. DARKESTRAH is one of the best black metal bands on the planet. This plows WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM right under the ground. Go out of your way to find this one.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality

DARKESTRAH
Nomad
Osmose Productions