Artist: Harifa
Title: As The Pale Sun Fades
Type: Album
Label: Digital / Matriarch Records
By my calculation, which may be a bit off, but the ‘new’ project Harifa has been around for a short seven on months as far as releases go but in that time not only have they released three singles, two EPs and now with this two albums, as well as forged an excellent relationship with Matriarch Records but more importantly for me as an observer their progress in defining and refining their sounds has been quite remarkable. So it seemed fitting to round off 2025 with a look at where we are…
A beautifully designed cover, a feel of Autumn into Winter perhaps and ‘Ashen Solis’ enters with soft, echoing notes, deep and rich of tone and slow of step. A little keyboard wash far in the background and then on a pinhead that sombre melody is launched on a driving riff and drum attack. I cannot express how much taking the tune into this surging, expanding black metal riff makes me feel. My chest swells, the music enters and I just want to close my eyes an let its world close over me.
‘Forever Autumn’ follows this. A raw throated mid paced song that weirdly at first reminds me of a band I suspect everyone else has forgotten (Hybernoid) before it moves to a glorious touch of raw, old school black metal; skeletal, dark riff. Haunted vocals. Curious tempos changes that when gathering pace pulls another beautiful meoldy from the shadows. Just like Autumn, the musical colouring here is nigh on perfect; raw yet with thick veins of atmosphere and melody that rise to the surface and trap you.
The title track begins with absolutely no warning; visceral and raw, no compromise, and stalking the borders of the sound the melody lurks. A moment of quiet, utterly shattered by the superb vocals that seem to come from the soul. A touch of the Celtic Frost unsettling note bending sound, a gallop into the night on a riff driven by a storm. All in three and a half minutes.
‘The Binding’ is just achingly beautiful. It walks that perfect line between atmospheric, DSBM and blackgaze by anchoring the black metal heart within and letting the haunting, deeply affecting melody leave you feeling somehow bereft. For me I think the way they keep that raw edge to their sound whilst gliding effortlessly through such strong melodic music is one of their perfect jewels. Beautiful songwriting.
Then we reach ‘Dead Garden’ which the artist themselves has spoken about. The clean vocals here are a surprise, but, just utterly captivating. This is a short, gorgeou moment of the beauty in loss, a strange sense of decay in the ethereal sound. The layering and arrangement is just spot on and moves incredibly smoothly into a final roar of black metal. Not jarring at all, this is judged to perfection and it finding the cold fire for that moment will stay with you long after the album finishes.
‘Abandon Faith’ brings the tolling bell of doom. Ponderous riff, heavy steps until we get an absolutely excellent hard riff of heavy metal blackened round the edges by the imperious keyboard sounds. It has a fine old school feel to its soul but the atmosphere fits the album so well.
‘Free The Nameless’ has an icy windswept beginning that has that Immortal feel to it but the clean calling vocals are like something out of the much missed Hagalaz Runedance world (RIP Andrea Meyer) and the raw sound rising out of this is perfect Harifa; icy, passionate and wrapped in those melodies which find you suddenly with a thousand yard stare as you mind follows the sounds and this world fades. And those cries at the end…. This is the emotion we love musicians bringing to their art.
The album closes with Megrim, a suitable downbeat ending. It has such a desolate, despairing beauty to it. The riff driving on draped in melody, heavy with a depressive cloud, and yet the colours of the album cover come through as I listen. The bleakness, the greys but that inner fire of amber buring to the surface. It is an absolutely fabulous song to close on.
The album stills. You take a breath. You can look at this as another mark in the land as to how Harifa continues to flower as an artist, but whilst that is such a special thing to have watched happen, it is the album itself which occupies its own space. It is simply beautiful. Haunting. It is both bitterly cold and built on embers that burst and crackle to the surface. The melodies and arrangements are rich but its heart and passion is still that raw throated ball of black metal nails within. I love how the sound embraces both these and creates a raw, even harsh sound which dances with such melodies and performance that you heart breaks every moment…
It a beautful way to end 2025 for Harifa. Light the Yule log, settle down and it overwhelm you,
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 