There's been an surprising amount of
Middle Eastern oriented metal coming out in recent years. In some
ways it makes sense due to the tensions endemic to the region, but
it's also a little bit surprising anytime a new breed of folk metal
starts to claw its way to the top. Arallu are Israel's latest
contribution to the game and their new record Six hints
at all that this music could be. There is a certain intensity here
driven by the power of the desert and the depth of the culture making
for some fascinating listening.
Throughout
this record you feel the influence of other Middle Eastern folk metal
bands, perhaps most notably Orphaned Land. The bands politically
oriented lyrics, oftentimes focusing on the religious conflict in the
Middle East is aimed at finding a peaceful future, but the music
seems largely driven by folks frustration. It's got to be insane to
be a band like Arallu, you are in a place where every day can be a
struggle just because of which side of town you were born on. The
rage found within the tracks is inherently fascinating because of
this. It makes up for the fact that the production and songwriting
isn't as good as it could be and instead makes me curious for the
future of the band.
The
groups execution is frequently solid you just periodically get the
impression they don't have the resources needed to really achieve
their vision. That being said there is something completely
entrancing about a song like Adonay, one of the strongest on the
record, which seamlessly fuses ancient music from the region with
more modern ideas. It reminds me, in some ways, of their peers in
Acyl. It's going to be fun to watch Arallu grow, and they already
have come so far, Six is
a major milestone for the band and the evolution will only be bolder.
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