Band – Nafarmaan
Band – Nafarmaan
From the very inception of human civilization in
this vast geographic area that has over time been the melting pot of a various
racial types, ethnicities, cultures and religions, South Asia is a region that
has been subject to vast socio-political, cultural and demographical changes at
large since time immemorial. The ancient kingdom of Angadesha has in particular
been swamped with such changes over the course of history, and has been split
into two wholes courtesy of the two dogmas that perpetually seem to divide man
– politics and religion. Nafarmaan is yet another mighty force from the other
half of this land – Bangladesh. Having formed in 2008, the etymological origins
of the band name derive from the Arabic and Farsi fraction of Urdu, denoting
the most harrowing and vilest of curses in Islam, connoting the ultimate
deviant and blasphemer, also bringing under its purview the adherents of all
‘false’ religions – in essence, the despised and detested in the context of
Islamic orthodoxy. Quayamat Lullaby is the debut EP of this Bangla horde, a
brief release with four songs. The word Qayamat
denotes the Day of Judgement in Islamic theology. The first thing that comes to
mind when one comes across a black/death metal band is that you either expect
outright Blasphemy worship, or the band takes the conventional route of the two
other variants of this hybid genre – the more atmospheric and sonically dense
variant and the more acidic, grinding and melodicity-laden brand of blackened
death metal.
However, Nafarmaan presents a very different
aesthetic from what you’d expect from a band in this niche genre. The manner in
which the band blends the two genres is fairly unique, with no qualms apropos
dabbling in melody and other off-beat elements such as clean guitars, traditional
chant-like dirges and the like. Comparisons to Weapon with regards to similar
amounts of sensible melody will inadvertently arise, although the two
ultimately sound quite different from each other. What furthermore makes the
assessment of this EP a difficult task of sorts is the fact that each track
presents a unique orchestration of the same dynamics relative to the track that
precedes it. Make no mistake however, this isn’t some sort of stripped down
black/death metal release conveniently hiding behind opaque vagaries of
song-writing – all the elements of the bestial black/death metal are very much
present here, with the signature successive phrases of devastation injected
with an inherent sense of thunderous recursion being more than evident. Riffs
flow atop a blasting structural skeleton, gashing out in an unrelenting manner,
evolving within a brief phrase, alternating between racing formations of tremolo-picked
chords with a concomitantly black metal sense of euphony and the cumbersome
sense of syncopation-driven, riveting rhythmic formation that has come to characterize death metal.
The basic riff idea here are all fairly derivative
of the larger realm of black/death metal, being the juxtaposing of lengthier
tremolo-picked mono-rhythms with muffled death metal riffs which are
illuminated by a blasting percussive background that helps to accentuate the
riff ideas, while ushering in some tempo changes in itself. Nohttzver, well
known for being a founding member of and the man behind the iconic logo of
Weapon dishes out some really fantastic fills, and the percussive dynamics as a
whole courtesy of his adept drum chops are very gratifying. The tone of the drums is especially menacing while still being technically adept and well thought out, without descending into any mindless savagery. This, in addition
to bringing into the mix, song-writing elements that would otherwise be considered
surprising, perhaps even abhorrent in the context of a black/death metal band,
such as the incorporation of some bombastic but rather enjoyable grooves, as
the opening and title track ‘Quayamat Lullaby’ reveals. Marhoum’s bass truly
shines through in these brief phrases. The guitar solos indulge themselves in a
sense of tormented atonality (although not overwhelmingly so), coiled around
emotive leads, and as already mentioned, the axe-attack of the guitarists
(Agnee Azaab and Nohttzver who serves as an addition studio guitarist) itself
has an innate sense of emotiveness and a certain intensity. Many segments
within songs have phrases that have a candor and simplicity of sorts that
presents an inherently ‘eastern’/Oriental sensibility, almost as if these very
melodies could be played on a more traditional instrument, such as the Ektara.
The production of the EP on the other hand is a litle murky, perhaps taking away from tracks that would otherwise truly stand out in
a well produced mix. While all the instruments
are perfectly audible, there is an innate sense of jarring that results in an
atmosphere that impression on one as congealed and perhaps even a little
sterile. But of course, given this is merely a debut EP and the band may well
have been working with both limited time and resources, one can look past this
for the most part, especially if one is used to listening to bands who
purposely opt for a low fidelity aesthetic (which most seeking out this EP would have, assumably).
In essence, this is a very admirable effort by Nafarmaan, and is slightly brought down due to its production values, although the song-writing ideas still manage to shine through. This isn't an avenue for immediate appeasement, but instead grows on you due to its inherent off-beat approach, laden with native sensibilities and a non-conformance apropos traditional blackened death metal. The charm of this release is in the distinctive yet subtle touches that the band adds to their aural canvas, with an admittedly arcane eastern allure to it, be it the chanted and spoken word passages, usage of cleaner tones or of ambiance-inducing sound samples. I for one look forward to more from these Banglas, who've surprisingly managed to forge a new approach in this largely derivative sub-genre, much like their (originally) fellow compatriots and sonic relatives in Weapon.
