AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: AKHENATEN — “AMULETS OF SMOKE AND FIRE”

In the run-up to the release of Akhenaten’s third album, Golden Serpent God, earlier this year, we had the pleasure of premiering a video for “Erishkigal: Kingdom of Death“, and now we get to bring you another video for another track off this excellent album: “Amulets of Smoke and Fire“.

For those of you who haven’t already discovered the record, the Colorado brothers Wyatt and Jerred Houseman who stand behind Akhenaten drew inspiration from the mythology and mysticism of ancient Mesopotamia, interweaving exotic melodies into a framework of powerful blackened death metal, accenting the album’s 11 formidable tracks with such instruments as Turkish Saz, Oud, Persian Santoor, Duduk, Kalimba, Handpans, and Sitar.

The Russian dancer Pluma Noxi, whose fluid, exotic movements interpret the currents of the song, is the co-star of this video — and of course the other co-star is the song itself. Moody and mysterious melody laces through the track, and behind that beguiling veil of sound the drums thunder, the hand-drum clatters in a frenzy, and the riffing swarms and rakes in a rampage of viciousness, while Wyatt Houseman’s livid roars and growls add a further layer of bestial violence to this multiply textured song, which further benefits from the rich array of ancient and mystical tones. It seems like the unfolding of some millennia-old tapestry in sonic form, heavy and imposing and as vibrant as if finished by the loom only yesterday.

Golden Serpent God is available now through the triumvirate of labels that released it in late May: Satanath Records (Russia), Cimmerian Shade Recordings (USA), and Murdher Records (Italy).

Order Info:
https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat201-akhenaten-golden-serpent-god-2018
http://satanath.com/releases/item/sat201
https://cimmerianshaderecordings.bandcamp.com/album/golden-serpent-god-2
https://www.facebook.com/MurdHerRecords/

Akhenaten:
https://akhenatenmusic.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/akhenatenmetal