Erragal — Realms of the Underworld

Given the tide of the ongoing social and religious upheavals in Iraq, which ripples through the land like a shockwave, it is inevitable that the residue of strife and conflict will be absorbed to varying degrees by the country's general populace. One of whom is Erragal: one man who expresses himself through an outlet of ritual dark ambient and abrasive Black Metal distortions.

For his latest work, 'Realms of the Underworld' Erragal mines the tales of the old underworld gods of Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian; gods that dwelt below the once great cradle of civilisation before the shackles of the slave-religions snapped shut. While there is an obvious darkness to the tracks there is also a significant degree of authenticity - this is not merely the work of a musical tourist, but a resident among the burning sands - and that fact greatly enriches 'Realms...' by inflicting upon the listener waves of chthonian rumbles with the hint of something lurking just beyond the field of view. The first track, 'Realms of the Underworld' nicely sets up a sense of apprehension through ritual-like growls and a quiet percussive patterns which nestle amongst a disparate, distant fanfare. The heavily accented vocals sound almost mocking and detached in their menacing recitations; like the blazing orb of a desert sun hanging in its heaven of indifference above the struggling, dying creatures below. The ritual rhythm of the drum continues into, 'Neti', the second track whose subject is the chief gatekeeper of the netherworld. Distorted vocals are joined by ambient and percussive loops which create an atmosphere of dread as a rasping BM guitar sequence is looped over the track - this has a sense of adding motion of sorts to the track; of darkness in momentum. Erragal's ability to conjure an image of sand-choked ruins, rituals performed in the gathering dark of a slumbering underworld and cold merciless nights is never in question throughout 'Realms...'. He capably creates these images through his ambient soundscapes and accompanying lyrics. The tracks, 'Gallu', 'Belet Seri', 'Kurnugia' and 'Manungal' blending together through their discordant phasing layered upon tendrils of expansive ambience and eclectic instrumentation.

However, one is mindful that the Ambient Black Metal genre is a bit of a mongrel, and one that may bite if not balanced. This is the only criticism of 'Realms...': the guitar tremolo loops can, at times, drown the signature sounds of a particular track when used too much - and this happens to an extent during 'Belet Seri' and 'Kurnugia' where unvarying guitar loops seem to battle formlessly for ascendancy with the structured ambience and this detracts from the overall listening experience. Shortened or more developed chord structures which rise from quieter ambient passages or bleed into them may resolve this. Yet, this thought cant diminish the brooding terror slowly cultivated by Erragal who assaults the listener with a shadow-soaked mirage of old gods moving through moonlit temples while acolytes and priests stare, mad-eyed, into the night. 'Realms...' is a significant work, further cemented by the authentic, ethnic, overtones upon which the knee remains unbent before either prophet or messiah.