Nahrayan

The Beginning Of The End - The End Of The Beginning

Written by: AP on 11/09/2012 12:30:08

Nahrayan, hailing from the Spanish resort town of Alicante, fashion themselves to be an atmospheric post-doom/sludge band. Although they have been in existence since 2000, this new album "The Beginning of the End - The End of the Beginning" is only their second full-length, and fourth release in all, including an early demo from ten years ago as well as the more recent "The End" EP which was released in 2007. As such one might expect grandeur given the amount of time available for honing each song on display here to perfection; yet somehow the album comes across as rather anticlimatic.

True enough, the band's music is a rock solid concoction of post-metal, doom and sludge. The mixture has been arranged into seven progressive songs riddled with layers that defy the fact that Nahrayan actually consists of just two musicians: Miguel A. Fernández, who handles drumming and percussion, and Julián Velasco, who is responsible for guitars, bass and vocals. But even through multiple listening sessions in a variety of settings (my favorite for this type of music being the hour-long journey to work in a dazed, almost delirious state), I've yet to form a full emotional connection with the album. It is an album that demands considerable attention, and its dynamics are constructed in such a way as to constantly tease the listener with promises of a cathartic moment. The problem is that such a moment never arrives, with Nahrayan seeming all too comfortable with meandering in a doom ridden atmosphere that seems to go nowhere.

There are redeeming qualities of course, such as the eventful "Red Moon Last Sunrise", or the delicately escalating 14-minute epic "The End", but as a single entity, "The Beginning of the End - The End of the Beginning" is more like a gargantuan, lumbering giant with little to say or convey. This makes the album feel inanimate and effectively removes any lasting value created by the rare standout moments. All in all the impression that I get from listening to the opus is that Nahrayan have considerable talent at their disposal, but little idea about how to channel that talent into writing meaningful songs. There are much better bands out there doing this kind of thing, and if Nahrayan hope to establish a presence among them, they're going to have to spend some serious time at the drawing table.

6

Download: Red Moon Last Sunrise, The End
For the fans of: Black Sheep Wall, Omega Massif, Rituals
Listen: Facebook

Release date 12.06.2012
Les Fleurs du Mal

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