Feral

Transylvanian experimental black metal project Watashi Dake have their debut demo ready to unleash malice on the world.

Hammering drums and chaotic riffs fall into a rather jarring assault of melancholic and bitter extremism. Taking the tonality of 90s black metal into more estranged realms with howled vocals and rather eerie instrumentals, this is certainly something that the raw black metal lovers will adore, that can be said from very early on. With a surprisingly strong rhythmic and low end section, this has a bit more groove than your run of the mill black metal demo, giving it a more punchy sonic approach. Cosmic keys are used to space out the ferociously dark grit to resplendent effect despite their simplicity, perhaps drawing inspiration from Master’s Hammer and the like. This music may be rather ambient and transcendent but that does not mean it isn’t utterly vicious and cold too, finding a stoic position betwixt traditional and more modern black metal to concoct something relatively unique that is dripping with ambient malice.

The two “Feral” tracks certainly have a barbaric quality to them that renders the name fitting. Alongside the black metal scorn, there is a lot of plain strangeness that gives a tinge of avant-garden insanity to the demo. This may throw off the momentum slightly but it certainly cannot be argued that it increases memorability too. Some might find the imperfections too abrasive, but I think the character and feel of the music overall makes up for these indiscretions. After all, this is black metal! Following the 2 original pieces of music (and I use the word original with utmost emphasis), is a cover of Dead Kennedys’ classic “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”. Certainly an interesting choice of band to cover for an experimental black metal band indeed but is pulled off pretty impressively and closes the demo with something that will certainly intrigue those who stumble across it.

This first demo certainly shows promise, both in terms of confident songwriting, unique ideas and a rather interesting result. Perhaps the weird breaks overindulge just a bit, but that’s what a debut demo is for. To me I think this project has made its first move in conquering a very esoteric and interesting sound, that with development could become something special. Watashi Dake, never stop the madness, there is a lot of promising ideas here.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com