From the Vastland‘s steady rise to prominence in the global realms of black metal began in the spring of 2013 when its then sole creator Sina journeyed from his homeland in Iran to perform at Oslo’s Inferno Festival, backed by a group of black metal luminaries from Norway. It happened to be a performance that our own Andy Synn witnessed and memorialized here. From then, and following Sina‘s immigration to Norway, From the Vastland has put out one impressive album after another, and we’ve continued following the band’s progress all along.

From the Vastland‘s most recent album was 2020’s The Haft Khan, a work that the same Mr. Synn lauded here as “pleasingly raw, yet mercilessly melodic”, delivering “great riffs”. “hideously infectious grooves”, “bold, bombastic hooks which, nevertheless, absolutely bristle with blackened menace”, and an obvious passion for a hallmark style of Norwegian black metal developed in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Throughout From the Vastland‘s rise, Sina has drawn thematic inspiration from wellsprings of Persian history and mythology, and he continues doing so on a new album (the band’s seventh) named Taurvi, which will be released on October 7th by the band’s new label, The Crawling Chaos Records. Continue reading »

Working alone (or mostly so), Sina began writing and recording black metal in Iran many years ago under the name From the Vastland, indulging his love of old school Scandinavian black metal in a place where the performance of such music was banned by the government. From the beginning, he has made the culture of his homeland a part of his creations, writing lyrical themes that draw upon ancient Persian mythology and history — epic tales of battles between darkness and light, good and evil, gods and devils — and weaving touches of Persian melody into the fabric of his songs.

Life for Sina took an unexpected turn when he was contacted by the Norwegian producer of the black metal documentary Blackhearts (eventually released in 2017) and became a part of that film, which in turn led to the opportunity in 2013 to perform at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, thanks in part to the work of a foundation established by Indie Recordings aimed at supporting bands who had spread their music in defiance of governmental oppression. There he was joined for the performance by a backing band that included such luminaries as bassist Tjalve (Horizon Ablaze, ex-Den Saakaldte, ex-1349), guitarist Destructhor (Myrkskog, Zyklon, ex-Morbid Angel), and drummer Vyl (Keep of Kalessin, Gorgoroth-live). And that in turn led to the opportunity for Sina to move to Norway, which he did in 2014.

From his new home in the cradle of black metal, Sina has continued to record and to perform at both Norwegian events and international festivals. His newest album, Daevayasna, will be jointly released on October 25th by Satanath Records (Russia) and The Eastern Front (Israel) — and today we present one of the new album tracks, entitled “Agas“. Continue reading »