Artist: Harifa
Title: Withering Woods
Type: EP
Label: Digital
I think one of the joys of doing all this myself is that I genuinely can just decide that something very very new is worthy of reviewing on first release rather than waiting to see if they ‘grow’ or get pushed by PR. I kind of follow currents and odd posts by people and dive in here and there. Lots of mistakes and missteps being simply the markings on the road. This debut EP though is no mistake.
The moment the title track of this EP opened out, like ink in water, the echoing vocals, the almost soft guitar riff more post-black metal than anything. The haunting vocals, the pulsing bass lines and the arcing, aching melody were mesmeric. I got a strong hint of that fabled, one off album by Ameseours so long ago that might perhaps be blamed for so much music I dislike. But this… this is beauty.
‘Rot By The Lake’ is both more and atmospheric black metal style but also richer in the gothic tinged melodies. Darkher with corpse paint? The variation and recording of the vocals is just uperb; the pain in the howls brought out so well, the buzzing guitar, the slow, melancholy melody lying upon the surface.
‘Hear My Plea’ is eerie, almost disturbing in places. DSBM. Layered, moments of haunting softness and enchantment. And then that scream, breaking at the edges, the emotion laid raw.
‘The Abyss’ closes things. Again the slow guitar notes, until…all Hell breaks loose in the most glorious slice of rip your throat out unadulterated black metal. Harsh, bitter, driving and just a brilliantly judged end to the melancholy showing that a feral beast exists just below the surface.
So impressed. I loved, as a whole, the mix of the atmospheric black metal/post black metal elements but also the full on howling storm at the end and I really hope that Harifa continue to explore this full range, because the songwriting here, for both, and the variation that together it brings to the EP is excellent. There’s a real defined personality about to emerge here.
Great debut. Here’s hoping there’s lots more to come.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 