Three years on from the release of their last album, the Persian black metal band Zurvan have completed a new record named Gorge of Blood, which will be co-released on June 28 by Satanath Records (Russia) and The Eastern Front (Israel). What we have for you today are streams of two previously released songs from the album plus our premiere of a new one named “Hallucination“.
Zurvan first came to life in Iran as the project of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Nâghes in 2009, and in 2012 the band became a two-person strike force with the addition of drummer Taromad. The band is now located in Germany, but as you will discover, the music is still very much connected to the Oriental musical traditions of their homeland, yet at the same time firmly rooted in the rebellious and ferocious antagonism of black metal.
“Hallucination” is an exhilarating piece of music, a distinctive song that manages to be both soulful and ruthlessly savage. The production gives the sound vibrancy and clarity, yet it’s not too shiny and clean; it still sounds dangerous and wild, to the point of delirium.
Part of the song’s exhilarating appeal lies in the frequent changes of pace and style. At the outset, and again at other points, the music is a frenzy of turbocharged riffs and jolting, bullet-spitting percussion. Yet the song also includes slower, head-nodding rhythms and strummed power chords. An exotic, swirling melody appears and reappears, and the Oriental flavor of the song persists throughout all its changes — as does the barbarity of the raging vocal tirades.
If you’re like me, this wonderfully composed and impressively executed song will get you in its grip immediately and won’t let go, and it will induce you to delve more deeply into this new album.
Check out “Hallucination” below, and we’ve also included streams of two previously released tracks, “Kiss of Death” and “Self-Mutilation” (a free download at Bandcamp).
Pre-order:
https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat177-zurvan-gorge-of-blood-2017
Zurvan on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/zurvaan
TRACK LIST:
01. Gorge Of Blood
02. Convulsion
03. Kiss Of Death
04. Isolation Of Sense
05. Self-Mutilation
06. Kafir
07. Zurvancide
08. Agression
09. Hallucination
10. Swamp
11. Filthy Calendar Of The Time
12. Freezing
13. Massacre
Length – 66:59
Very good. Thanks for introducing me to this band.
My pleasure. They are an excellent new discovery for me too.
There’s a letter of a certain trilling (or in your case, approximant) alveolar quality missing in the album title.
Sounds damn good, though.
🙂 I understand your disappointment over the truncation of that word in the album title, but happy that it hasn’t undermined your enjoyment of the music.