(written by Islander)
The long-running Israeli black metal band Arallu has provided the following background information concerning the inspiration for their song “Sierra Nevada” that we’re premiering today through a video:
In September 2003, five hikers set out on a two-week expedition deep into the jungles of Colombia, in search of a mysterious place known as “The Lost City”, an ancient ruin on a jungle-covered mountain hidden high in the Sierra Nevada range.
But what began as an adventure soon turned into a nightmare. One night, while they were asleep in their camp, they were ambushed and kidnapped by the brutal guerrilla group ELN (the “National Liberation Front”). The five were taken from their tents at gunpoint and held hostage under harsh conditions, surrounded by the unforgiving wilderness and the constant threat of death.
Among them was the younger brother Beni of Daniel, lead vocalist of Arallu, also known by his stage name Butchered. Against the will of his family, Daniel embarked on a personal mission with his best friend — a desperate journey into the heart of the Sierra Nevada jungle — determined to find his brother and bring him home.
After 101 days in captivity in the Colombian jungle, and following prolonged negotiations, the Israeli hostages were returned home and reunited with their families.
“Sierra Nevada” is the song that Arallu wrote about this true story.
In discussing Arallu‘s latest album, 2022’s Death Covenant, we described their music as “imposing — ferocious, heavy, often vast and towering,” but also hailed it as “complex, dynamic, and exotic (for want of a better word) in its seamless incorporation of Middle Eastern folk melody and instrumentation.” Much the same can be said of “Sierra Nevada“. It dynamically captures the dangerous events described above, and powerfully channels the emotional impact of those events on people affected by the kidnappings,
The song begins with ferocious but also haunting intensity. As the drums furiously hammer and the bass thunderously surges the layered guitars engulf the listener with devastating riffage that sounds increasingly desperate as it flares higher.
Yet the music dramatically changes, and continues changing. The pace suddenly slows, and reverberating chords and grieving notes cast a dismal pall over the mood, accompanied by what seems to be an excerpted recording of a news report, presumably about the kidnapping. But the song also then jolts the listener hard as the lead guitar vividly swirls and extravagant screams explode.
The jolting pulse of the song in this phase grows more fiercely determined in its feeling, still surrounded by those glittering lead-guitar sensations, and the intensity of song as a whole also expands again, with drums blasting, the bass feverishly throbbing, screams exploding, and the riffage magnificently writhing and rippling in a way that again summons musical traditions of Arallu‘s region.
The music reaches a zenith of breathtaking intensity, but at the very end the storm breaks, providing room for one last excerpted recording — the end of the ordeal.
“Sierra Nevada” will be released on all major platforms on this Friday, July 11th.
PRE-ORDER:
https://arallu.bandcamp.com/track/arallu-sierra-nevada
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