“Why do we grasp at eternity, when we know it will leave us behind?”
Several years into their burgeoning career, London’s progressive/doom metallers Lowen have firmly established themselves as one of the UK’s most creative, proficient, and exciting underground metal acts. Now, with the upcoming release of their highly anticipated sophomore full length album, Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran, they are poised – and fully deserve – to break into the mainstream and reach a new audience of baying fans.
Initially formed in 2017 – at an Akercocke show, no less – and quickly following up with debut record A Crypt In The Stars, core members Nina Saeidi (vocals, folk instruments, lyrics) and Shem Lucas (guitars, bass) are joined once again by powerhouse drummer Cal Constantine for this release, which builds impressively on the unique and enthralling elements previously established on A Crypt and follow-up EP Unceasing Lamentations. Clearly uncomfortable resting on their already impressive laurels and determined to strive for originality and sheer crushing heaviness, this album sees the band firing on every single cylinder available and finding their mark (almost) every time.
Let’s just get this out of the way early – Do Not Go To War is easily one of the best albums I have heard all year. Its ferocity and technicality is tempered only by its visionary and singularly expressive motifs, somehow managing to be catchy and full of enveloping hooks without sacrificing even an iota of its bludgeoning assault, and its subject matter (and delivery) is weighty and approached with the requisite respect it deserves. Encompassing both legendary Persian storytelling – taking heavy inspiration from The Shahnameh (the ancient Book of Kings) – and the struggles of modern life in Iran, particularly for the women brave enough to protest publicly against the ruling Islamic Republic and risking their lives and freedom in the process, the themes and parallels are starkly drawn and paint an emotive but empowering masterpiece of modern metal.
Opening with an immediately striking guitar hook and hypnotic, harmonious vocals before descending into a chuggy and off-kilter rhythm, the album kicks off powerfully with “Corruption On Earth”, fully showcasing the band’s ability to layer soaring melodic vocals over downtuned riffs and spectacularly groovy drum patterns. This opener sets a solid tone and pattern for the rest of the album to follow, and it’s not even the best track on the record. In this reviewer’s opinion, that particular accolade must be given to its immediately following counterpart, “Najang Bah Divhayeh Mazandaran”, which features some of vocalist Nina Saeidi’s finest work on the entire record. Shifting seamlessly from English to Farsi to Sumerian, from hushed conversational tones to mournful yet beautiful and powerfully delivered tahrir style vocals, her work here is viscerally emotional and truly special. Born into exile in the UK, Nina’s identity and personality bleeds into every aspect of this record, from the phenomenal artwork and evocative title down to the poignant and passionately delivered lyrics, and the album as a whole is made infinitely stronger by this personal connection.
This is not at all meant to downplay the contributions of Saeidi’s compatriots though – on the contrary, Shem’s already impressive repertoire of thunderous riffs and (a)harmonious leads has increased tenfold over what we’ve heard on previous releases. The winding, elongated passages of mournful Middle Eastern scales featured on tracks like “In Perpetual Bloom”from A Crypt or the delicate acoustics of “The Exalted One Who Walketh”from Unceasing Lamentations have all been amplified, inverted, transformed into something absolutely more than the sum of its parts, creating a vast and sonically imposing landscape. The clean and slick production may not initially sit well with longtime fans – compared to A Crypt’s raw doom fuzziness, this is an incredibly polished album production wise – but it works in tandem with Shem’s incredible guitar work to forge a thick but ethereal atmosphere, and allows some of the finer details to take centre stage when necessary. The drums, courtesy of Cal, have also improved leaps and bounds over earlier demonstrations, showcasing a variety of unconventional grooves and pounding rhythms, complimented by tasteful fills throughout. And that’s without even mentioning the hauntingly beautiful cello work by guest musician Arianna Mahsayeh that opens “May Your Ghost Drink Pure Water”, a calming and welcome respite from the fury found on other cuts, or the various traditional instrumentation offered up by Nina both here and tastefully contributed throughout the record.
This leads us to album closer “Ghazal For The Embrace Of Fire”, a nearly 9-minute epic that effortlessly displays all the band’s best qualities and hallmarks, wrapped up in a cohesive package that starts explosively, rarely lets up, and ends with triumphant aplomb. This is true of the record in its entirety, and it serves as stark reminder of the talent and passion delivered by this act in spades. It’s hard to overstate the sheer force of will that seems to drive this album, and you can truly feel the amount of care and love that it must have taken to craft such an expansive and memorable journey.
If I was pushed, I could certainly find small things to criticise – overall the album does lack some variation in dynamics and feel, with the majority of the tracks finding their groove early and rarely breaking out of the tempo and atmosphere they’ve established, sometimes frustratingly so. And as unbelievably talented of a vocalist Nina may be, the melodies and hooks she settles on can occasionally start to bleed into each other and sometimes veer close to repetition. But even this minor criticism could be easily handwaved away as a personal unfamiliarity with her particular style and timbre, and it seems callous and nitpicky to point to these small issues as any kind of major flaw when the entire package is such a phenomenal success and incredible achievement for the band. Mark my words – this will be appearing on end-of-year lists, may even end up at the top of mine, and should absolutely be in consideration for yours.
8.5/10
Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran drops on the 4th October through Church Road Records and can be pre-ordered here.