The black metal band Imha Tarikat, based in Germany, vaulted onto our radar screens last year with a debut EP named Kenoboros (reviewed here). Released by Terratur Possessions, it was a four-song collection of unusual emotional power and unmistakably authentic passion. Since then, Imha Tarikat’s sole creator Ruhsuz Cellât has been joined on drums by a second member who goes by the name Prowler, and together they’ve recorded a debut album, Kara Ihlas.
The music of Kenoboros would have been reason enough to become excited about what this full-length might hold in store, but the album’s fantastic cover art by Cold Poison is exciting all by itself, and it also seems to be an entirely fitting visual representation of both the sound of the music and its inspirations — at least so far as we can tell based on the album track we’re presenting today, the name of which is “Akan Sir“.
Imha Tarikat have divided Kara Ihlas into four chapters, three of those chapters further divided into two or three parts, and the final chapter consisting of the song “Son Mistisizm”, a demo version of which was released as a single in February of this year (available here). At the end of this introduction you’ll find the album’s track list, which identifies “Akan Sir” as its second track and as the concluding part of the first chapter, which the band describe as a “a journey into the depths of the unconscious”.
As before, Imha Tarikat have supercharged their music with fiery intensity. The raw, emotional explosiveness of “Akan Sir” is evident in every respect, including the startling quality of the vocals, which aren’t “black metal standard”. Somewhere between an enraged roar and an anguished yell, they seem to hold nothing back. And like the vocals, the instrumental music quickens the pulse and sets fire to the mind. It makes a physical attachment from the very beginning through Prowler’s methodical hammering and a deep bass pulse, and the whirling blend of twisting, howling riffs light a blaze in the imagination.
The intensity varies, thanks to changes in the drum rhythms and slight subsidences in the surge of the riffing, and to a pair of searing, fire-bright melodic solos that send the music toward zeniths of dervish-like ecstasy, while also burrowing into your skull to the point where you may feel compelled to listen to the track again as soon as it has ended.
There is fire and fury in the music, but it is edged with sensations of darkness, pain, and despair; as the lyrics say, “Light made us all ecstatic!”, but “morbid is man and temporary his journey”, no matter how much we may be driven to deny it.
Cold Poison created not only the cover art for Kara Ihlas but also other works that will accompany the release. Imha Tarikat are now searching for the right label to produce a physical release of the album, and so no release date has yet been set. The availability of a digital release will be dependent on whether the band succeed in finding a label partner in the near future. Surely, some smart label owner will jump on this, and soon.
For further info about the album as it becomes available, follow Imha Tarikat on Facebook. And check out the band’s previous releases on Bandcamp.
Bandcamp:
https://imhatarikat.bandcamp.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/imhatarikat/
Kara Ihlas Track List:
1: I-I: Çökmüş Mühür (The broken Seal)
2: I-II: Akan Sır (The flowing Wisdom)
3: II – I: Omninihai Çözümü (Omni-Final Solution)
4: II – II: Katarsis Vaazı (Catharsis Sermon)
5: III – I: Şafaksız Rüya (Dawnless Dream)
6: III – II: Kara Ihlas (Black Purity)
7: III-III: Imha Tarikatı (Sect of Destruction)
8: IV: Son Mistisizm (The last Mysticism)