Mutilated Tyrant - Ho'dichiih Dóó' Sáji'

 

Artist: Mutilated Tyrant

Album: Ho'dichiih Dóó' Sáji'

Label: Self-Released

Year: 2020

Country: USA

Genre: Black Metal

Mutilated Tyrant are a black metal trio from Ganado, Arizona, which is on the Navajo Nation Reservation. This is their second release and first EP. While their first demo, Dark Sign of the Baphomet, was more death metal influenced and steeped in metal cliches of satanism and blasphemy, this EP sees the band honing in a more purely black metal sound, definitely inspired by the second wave Norwegian scene. As the EP's title would suggest, this release also focuses more on the band's Navjo/Diné roots. The title translates to "Birth to Old". 

The EP begins with the sound of crows cawing over a sinister synth loop and the beating of war drums, setting the attitude for the journey ahead. The band wastes no time after the intro, with "Under the Cold Dark Moon" starting immediately with an assault of tremolo picked chords and blasting drums. The music evokes the feeling of a nightside journey under the full moon on horseback through the vast deserts that the Navajo call home. The band does an excellent job of breathing new life into the cold and bleak sounds that the Norwegians innovated, without sounding like a lazy copy cat. There is a mystical nature to these songs, that would fit nicely as soundtrack to a nocturnal ceremony around a large fire. The band mentions that these four songs are going to be part of a full-length album due some time in the near future, and I look forward to when that day comes. 

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Meridion - Rise From The South

Artist: Meridion

Album: Rise From The South

Label: Self-Released

Year: 2018

Country: Chile

Genre: Death Metal

Meridion are a death metal band from Santiago, Chile. This is their debut effort. The band create otherworldy angular and swirling death metal that incorporates electronics in a way that is hypnotic and almost trance-inducing and unlike any other band I've heard. The band pays tribute to the Selk'nam tribes of Southern Chile, with the album cover depicting a man in traditional ceremonial body pain and mask that are centers of the Kloketen rite of passage that Selk'nam men underwent. 

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Zurg - Decolonizing Black Metal

 Artist: Zurg 

Album: Decolonizing Black Metal 

Label: Self-Released 

Year: 2020

 Country: USA 

Genre: Raw Black Metal

Zurg are a three piece black metal band from Arizona. This is their debut demo. Inspired by the members collective Apache, Pima, and Zapotec ancestry, they create raw black metal teeming with ancestral rage. The tape begins with the sounds of war as it would sound in the 1800s, with muskets blaring, horses galloping, and bugle fanfares before a the beat of a war drum begins and the first riff enters. With the tone set, the band delve into a old school black metal march. Following the first track we get more aggressive cuts like "Paleface" and "Ancestral Terror" which sound like the band are out for colonizer blood. This is a strong beginning for this band and I look forward to what their future holds

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Jeksolok - Jetaksor

 

Artist: Jeksolok 

Album: Jetaksor 

Label: Self-Released

Year: 2019 

Country: Chile 

Genre: Post-Black Metal

Jeksolok are a one-man post-black metal band from Punta Arenas in the southern tip of Chile. This is their debut EP. The EP starts with a melancholic guitar intro before soaring into the first track, "Saltaxar" a beautiful song that balances lush atmosphere and piercing catharsis of bands like Woods of Desolation and Cold Body Radiation. The following song "C'ek'eslak" has a much colder and more brooding atmosphere, capturing the feeling of the cold and rigid terrain of the band's southern homelands. A beautiful and dreamy instrumental track "Os Jeterhana" precedes the title track, an anthemic conclusion teeming with pride and glory. 

Thematically, the band takes inspiration from the mythology and cosmology of the Kawésqar indigenous people of the Chilean Patagonia.  It is believed that their history in the region extends over six-thousands years! Unfortunately like many indigenous cultures, the culture and language of the Kawésqar is being practiced by fewer people as time passes. Jeksolok's music is powerful not only by its own right but also because it is preserving part of an ancient culture. 

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Laftrache - Voces Ancestrales

Artist: Laftrache

Album: Voces Ancestrales

Label: Kuyen Prod

Year: 2015

Country: Chile

Genre: Black Metal

Laftrache are black metal band from Villa Alemana, Chile. This is their debut demo. First we have   the track "Contra El Que Porte El Cruz" an anti-christian anthem. The song start with the resonant chime of a singing bowl, then wastes no times getting into a succession of powerful, thick old school black metal riffing that would make Tom G Warrior proud. The band does not stay at a mid-tempo stomp though, introducing a series of riffs that are very inline with the frost-bitten sounds of Darkthrone. 

The second track "El Clamor Selknam" is where the indigenous roots of the band shine. Inspired by the indigenous people of the Patagonian region, the song starts with a malevolent chord progression and a short spoken word sample of a native Selknam speaking woman Ona, as well as the sound of the Trutruca, a trumpet like instrument invented by the Mapuche made from colihue wood and cattle horn, and a trompe mouth harp. The band uses these instruments to build up the atmosphere before exploding into a merciless black metal attack that slows retreats to the same chord progression the song started with. This is a short but powerful demo, solidifying Laftrache as name to keep on eye on for those interested in metal from Chile and metal bands that pay tribute to their indigenous ancestors

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Kūka'ilimoku - Ka Hui Hawai'i Aloha 'Āina

Artist: Kūka'ilimoku

Album:  Ka Hui Hawai'i Aloha 'Āina 

Label: Self-Released

Year: 2020

Country: USA

 Genre: Black Metal/Punk

Kūka'ilimoku is a one-man band based out of Hawai'i, playing a blistering take on the sound pioneered by Ildjarn. The band is named after the Hawai'ian god of war, which combined with the band's declaration of intent, "Kūka'ilimoku is boundless disgust and hatred of all who leech to sacred lands of Hawai’i",  gives the listener a good idea of why this music is so teeming with rage.  Though lyrics aren't available online, this release is clearly about the history of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, with the album's title being an allusion to the sibling nationalist organizations formed by native Hawai'ians to defend their home from annexation. 

The demo opens with hissing feedback and a simple but sinister chord progression before forming into a quick barrage of black metal blasting, then quickly switching to a stomping punk riff, setting the tone for what to expect from Kūka'ilimoku's violent fusion of black metal and punk. The track's title translate to steadfast and is a reference to Queen Lili'okalani's motto "E’onipa’a i ka 'imi na’auao" which means "Be steadfast in the seeking of knowledge." 

Some tracks, like the bombastic "1893" and brooding "1898" allude to the years Hawai'i was overthrown and then later annexed. Other tracks describe the outcome of the event like the cultivation of "Hawai'an Sugarcane" on plantations which were created by people who easily fit the description of "European Rubbish". Overall this demo isn't just brutal assault of seriously kick ass riffs, but is also a great history lesson for any curious listener who wants to do a little research. I heavily recommend checking out this demo, as well the rest of the material they're released in the short time they've been active. 

"For children of Hawai'i both native and from sugarcane day who loved and fought for Hawai'i to be governed by those who had her best interests in mind. Death to all missionaries and rotten politicians."

Arani - Raoni... Armados na honra, guerreiros da terra!

Artist: Arani 

Album: Raoni... Armados na horna, guereiros da terra! 

Label: Barleycorn Produções

Year: 2016 

Country: Brazil 

Genre: Pagan Black Metal

Arani are a one-woman pagan black metal band from Natal, Rio De Grande de Norte, Brazil. This is their debut demo. Their name translates roughly to "furious time" in the Tupi-Guarani language. Based on the demo's subtitle, which translates to "Armed in honor, warriors of the land!", I'm guessing the main title Raoni is a reference to Raoni Metuktire, a famous environmentalist and chief of the Kayapo people, native to regions now know as Pará and Mato Grosso in Brazil.

The demo begins with the sound of birds chirping before a mystical synth melody is introduced, later joined by acoustic guitar plucking and chanted vocals, setting the atmosphere for this journey through the Amazon. Musically the band takes influence from the pagan strain of black metal, with mid-tempo melodic riffing of a valiant nature, chanted vocals, and heavy use of synthesizer being the stand-out characteristics of their sound. Arani goes the extra mile to immerse the listener into a heroic journey forests of the Amazon, from the hooting of owls sampled throughout the track "Reína", the panflute used on "Ataendy Aíba", and the galloping of horses sampled on "Antes Do Fim". Overall this is an excellent pagan black metal demo, and I hope we hear more material from Arani in the future.  

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