Pretty impressive stuff here from German by way of Kyrgyzstan band Darkestrah, who play an epic style of pagan black metal, littered with menacing female vocals courtesy of Kriegtalith, pummeling drum work, some inspired guitar riffs, and plenty of keyboard orchestrations as well as some cello for added color. With only five songs, you can imagine that things take on an epic scope here, and they certainly do, with three of the five tunes clocking in over the 12 minute mark. Opening cut "The Silk Road" is a well constructed piece, taking the listener on a extended journey through Shamen themes and interjecting plenty of black metal interludes. It doesn't let up there, "Inner Voice" another lengthy piece with Kriegtalith's maniacal vocals taking center stage amidst manic drum fills and raging guitar riffs, and the more tribal & textured "Cult Tengri" follows, complete with haunting melodies and plenty of ragged guitar lines to go along with the rest of the manic instrumentation & vocals. The CD's longest piece, the near 19-minute "Kara-Oy" is a complete monster of chaotic black metal armaggedon, manic blast beats fighting for supremacy against blistering tremelo picked riffs and screeching wailings from Kriegtalith, coming across like a bastard child of Enslaved and Dark Funeral. On the closing instrumental "The Last Step", the band go for a more progressive take on the genre, haunting synths and layered percussion creating an ominous feel, ending this intriguing release on a more tranquil note considering how bombastic the rest of it is. Paragon Records has one of their strongest releases here with The Great Silk Road, and Darkestrah show all the tools of a black metal band who have plenty of upside to really do great things in the near future.
Track Listing
1. The Silk Road (13:07)
2. Inner Voice (12:13)
3. Cult Tengri (8:26)
4. Kara-Oy (18:48)
5. The Last Step (1:59)
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