Worldwide Metal: Kazakhstan
In this edition of Worldwide Metal, I head to the country of Kazakhstan. Growing in popularity following the popularity of the Borat character from the 2006 mockumentary comedy Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Nestled in the heart of Russia, the country can sometimes be easily mistaken for a Middle Eastern country due to the sound of the country’s name. It is home to some popular landmarks like the Caspian Sea and Lake Balkhash. But, I know you didn’t come here to learn about the country or see how many Borat references I put in this piece (which there are none). Does Kazakhstan have an extreme metal scene? What is it and what does it sound like?
The first band I’ll be talking about today is Aforgomon. A one-man atmospheric, DSBM band, the project delivers the sadness and melancholic nature and staples of the genre. With the eerie, jagged and bleak sound on the song “Come, Keeper of Gates”, the album just instantly makes you want to dread existing. With the rough, demo-production sound, it truly captures that hopelessness aesthetic. With only one album, 2024’s Desperate Echo of Timelessness, I hope there is more music in the future for this project. If you are a fan of Xasthur and Leviathan, I definitely recommend checking this band out.
Next up, we get proggy, deathy and thrash heavy with our next act Kadar. Formed in 2009, this duo truly captures the heavy intensity and groove or prog, along with the snarling vocals of death delivered by Ruslan Issaev. After 2 EP’s, the band released their debut album Same Old World in 2019. From the opening track, you get a whole unique and diverse genre-hopping throughout the song. From shredding fast heavy metal guitars, to dueling harmonies straight out of the melo-death scene. Even with a little groove metal in it as well. That groovy, death n’ roll vibe comes in strong on “Question”. Giving me Swansong-era Carcass vibes. Good band to check out if you want a little bit of everything in your death metal.
Spotify
A unique combination of stoner and blackened heavy metal, you get the band Niemaracz. This one-person project truly pays homage to the stoner/heavy metal roots of Sabbath and Saint Vitus, while also adding a little bit of groove and blast beat drumming occassionally. “The Experiment” is a fitting title and example of the band playing around with the almost polar opposite genre combinations. The band’s sole album, The Tales of The Dense Forest, is a diverse listen and interesting to see Pavel Stepanenko try to add black metal into stoner/sludgy/bluesy metal guitar riffs. “Remuneration For Work” is my favorite track off the album. If you enjoy the stoner/sludgey sound of Sleep and Electric Wizard, but want a little faster pace while you hit the bong, this is an album to check out.
Bandcamp
Heading back into the black metal genre, but adding some nice symphonic elements is Symphony of Horror. Formed in 2008, the project definitely delivers that nicely produced symphonic elements you’d get with Emperor or Dimmu Borgir. Especially on their 2019 album Gekommende aus Abaddon and the song “Königreich der Spiegel”. I dug this project a lot, as the music has that symphonic black metal elements I like, but also had some nice guitar solos on some of the tracks. Adding a classic heavy metal nostalgia tinge that bands like Uada do so well. I recommend the band if you are a fan of Dimmu Borgir or Bal-Sagoth.
Bandcamp
The last band I’ll be looking at today draws us back into the DSBM genre with the band Sügis. Another one-person project, helmed by Graf Heute, the project was very active in 2024. Releasing two albums in May 2024. My Hate is Blade in the beginning of the month, and Romantic Suicide at the end of the month. Another black metal band that is acting more traditional heavy metal, almost speed metal elements like Midnight and Necropanther are doing right now. A barrage of bleakness, aggression, hostility and dread is all over Sügis music and a great act to check out if you want a definitely unique hybrid of speed DSBM.
Spotify
That’s going to do it for my time visiting Kazakhstan and another edition of Worldwide Metal. Did you dig some of the bands I featured in this edition? Were there any bands you think other readers should check out? You can also let me know what country I should travel to next, so I can stamp my metal passport on my journey to discover Worldwide Metal.
