KOSTNATÊNI “Oheň hoȓi tam, kde padl”
By Dr. Abner Mality
At just three tracks, I almost passed this one by. I’m sure glad I didn’t, because this is one totally mesmerizing mindfuck of Middle Eastern metal. KOSTNATÊNI is basically one guy, DL, who does everything with the exception of drums, which are performed by Jack Blackburn. That’s all the information you’re given. As for the music, the three songs here are all original Turkish odes that date back hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but they are performed in black/death metal style.
The result is something totally different from anything else I’ve heard. Forget other Middle Eastern influenced bands like NILE and MELECHESH...this is an absolute wall of sound that is like the most intense desert sandstorm given musical form. The music is DENSE, with layers of guitar twisting and writhing with the authentic sound of the Middle East. The drumming is absolutely insane, a barrage of mayhem that never stops. I mean, it’s on a level beyond most war metal and grindcore, yet it’s a lot trippier and more nimble than just straight blasting. Above all, the music sounds ancient and otherworldly, both familiar and utterly alien. As you can no doubt guess, the lyrics are all in Turkish. The vocals vary from clean crooning in traditional Arabic fashion to deep growls and rasps.
My meager descriptions don’t do KOSTNATÊNI justice. It’s black and death metal, but like if those genres existed a thousand years ago. I don’t think these guys do much to promote themselves, so seek this out and make yourself one of the chosen few to travel beyond the veil to a new realm of metal.