Arallu - Six (EN)

Oh well, we have something exotic laying on the desc yet again. Arallu from Israel release their sixth studio album, which appropriately has the title "Six".

The band was previously unknown to me, despite the fact that they had already established themselves in 1997 and have been producing quite constant music since then. In her 20-year-old discography you can see just two bigger holes, each with four and five years, in which they have published nothing.

The gentlemen call their musical creations "Middle-Eastern Black Metal" and they enrich their tracks with oriental instruments like a Saz (a long-necked lute) and a darbuka (goblet drum). These are often used, however they don't clash with the metal music but are applied exactly to the right extent, so that this oriental flair can also arise. This creates wonderful rhythms, which partly remind me of the groovy Sepultura or old System of a Down, but in a harder manner.

In some moments, they are a bit too playful for me and hesitate for certain expectations and highlights for too long, which minimally depresses the mood. Though despite this, the expectations in other places are fully fulfilled and give full satisfaction. So there is a back and forth, as well as in the song structures themselves, which serve the full Black / Thrash now and then but sometimes celebrate the groove in mid-tempo the melodies. On the whole, however, the Thrash has priority on the disc ("Philosophers").

Normally, I'm not a fan of Intros, especially if they're shorter than a minute and do not make sense. In the case of Arallu, however, this is to be assessed differently, since the listener becomes tuned to the unexpected sounds and instruments. The fact that there is not always only melody or full-speed is proved by the guys in "Possessed by the Sleep", among others. There the tempo is very throttled and then it has only one powerful increase without significantly speeding up, until after three minutes the eruption takes place.

The drums are variable and especially brilliant when played together with Saz and Darbuka, the guitars and the bass fly easily through the songs, but give the music enough hardness in the right places and the vocals of Butchered attack everything with a heartbeat.

Conclusion:
A perfect album by Arallu and also absolutely suitable for a newcomer like me regarding the band. The songs deliver good mood, they let you groove but make you also celebrate violently. You can also look for the flops in vain. Top.

Rating: 8,5/ 10

Recommendation: The Univers Secrets (Six), Philosophers, Soulless Soldier