Style: Black metal, dark ambient
Primary Emotions/Themes: Darkness, insanity, repetitive meditation
Thoughts: Every so often you come across a band by pure chance. A cover looks interesting at a record shop. An album title seems intriguing. Or you simply stumble upon it from some unknown source. Adaestuo is one such band for me - they entered my collection on pure chance.
Krew Za Krew is essentially a dark ambient album with several lengthy black metal segments. The metal segments are repetitive and seek to put the listener into a state of hypnotic meditation. The riffs cycle over each other creating a mysterious atmosphere conducive to getting lost in the whirlwind.
In-between these lengthy riffs are passages where middle eastern instruments are played alongside dark atmospheres and excellent haunting vocals provided by Hekte Zaren. Her vocal range is impressive. She can wail and howl like the fiercest of daemons. She can sing and croon haunting tones that fit perfectly in the darker moments of the album. Her addition to the music is not only a boon, it is the essential pillar to the sound achieved on this album.
While the basic description of Adaestuo's music is rather simple, the effect it has on me is quite complex. I found myself listening to the music contained on this record multiple times and getting lost in its hypnotic sway. Sometimes those meditations led me to a wonderful place of revelation. Other times places of deep terror and dread.
Krew Za Krew is an album that ends up being more of an experience than a collection of songs. The individual tracks are decent on their own, but when put together the album takes on a different character. One where we are not only challenged to listen to the music, but also reflect on the world around us as well as that which lies within.
Written August 26th 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment