Review by Nekrist on April 1, 2025.

Black Metal has always been an excellent vehicle for the transport and transmission of Dark Energies and philosophies, one of the most interesting of these dark thought patterns is the so-called “Thursian” path, in which its followers salute and praise the ancient and reveling Anti-Cosmic Giants known as “Thurses”, why? Because they are the guardians of the most primordial and liminal knowledge, so valuable that even the Gods wanted to learn from Them.

The most important and prominent band to expound this spiritual path was without a doubt Arckanum, the highly respected project of the pioneer in this current now known as “Ekortu” or “Vexior”. Ekortu was the one who planted the Thursian Anti-Cosmic seed that germinated years later in bands like the one I am going to review below, Nawaharjan.

This German band is for me one of the best to carry the Black Flame in recent years. This, their debut album titled “Lokabrenna”, explores with depth and conviction the darkest and most sinister aspects of Germanic/Norse Mythology, taking us on a path of ecstasy and liberation with each song, the titles of each one are arranged in an ascending manner in which it begins with consciousness (Warassuz) and ends in the much-appreciated liberation of the spirit (Hradjungo) through the exploration of the Dark Side.

Musically Nawaharjan plays a powerful, evocative, and melodic (at times) black metal that immediately connects with the listener, there are very memorable riffs that stay embedded in the psyche for quite some time, and that invite you to play the album over and over again to feel those nostalgic and epic feelings again, the drums are pristine and flawless, the blast beats act as a beating heart that gives a solid and stable structure to each of the songs, the voice is very reminiscent of Shamaatae (Ekortu), so much so that at times it seems like he was the one who did the vocals for this album, something really impressive and very welcome on my part. The lyrics are written in proto-Germanic, which adds an extra layer of depth and complexity to the message that is conveyed here.

In conclusion, a highly recommended album and only suitable for those looking for seriousness in extreme metal, these types of bands are the ones that keep black metal more alive than ever, thanks to their efforts and passion for the genre, a must-listen for all those who wish to immerse themselves in Chaotic Knowledge.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Fernando on March 11, 2020.

If you're into the more pagan side of black metal you're probably familiar with Swedish band Arckanum, which sadly dissolved in 2018. I bring this up because from Germany comes Nawaharjan, a band that will not only scratch that particular itch, maintain the Thrusatru tradition but is also a potential contender for best black metal album of 2020.

First and foremost, do not misunderstand, this band is not an Arckanum clone, far from that, I simply bring that band up for the sake of context and perspective, since like Arckanum, Nawaharjan is a black metal band which instead of Satanism and overt blasphemy, focuses on the Thursatru tradition and dark Germanic paganism, the tl;dr being that its basically Anti-cosmic Left Hand Path form of Nordic paganism, and they oppose the "Asatru " aka the well-known Nordic gods like Thor, Odin and so forth.

With all that out of the way and clarifying the one similarity with Arkcanum, let’s talk about what's important here, the music, and like I mentioned above, this is so far one of the best black metal albums of the year. The first thing to mention is how Nawaharjan play a style of black metal that perfectly balances the raw aggression of traditional black metal with much more melodic and dynamic soundscapes popularized by bands like Watain and Mgła. It’s the best of both worlds characterized by soaring guitars that create a chaotic wall of sound with sprawling melodies and dark atmospheres. The band even brings just enough progressive elements bolstered with a clean production to fully display all these musical elements. Moreover, and appropriately, the overall atmosphere the band created here is very ritualistic and hypnotic, the entire album is basically a retelling of the Loki myths from a Thrusian perspective, not unlike how other black metal bands write about Bible tales from the perspective of Satan. And the vocals by Skandaz are what truly sells this album and put the cherry on the album's atmosphere cake.

Skandaz has a very unique range and style. Instead of screeches common of black metal, his approach is much more savage and tribal-like, he snarls his vocals for the most part and seamlessly switches to ritual bellowing in the songs' choruses without losing any momentum or intensity. The overall feel is of a druid praising and calling Loki from the top of a hill, and that intensity is maintained throughout the whole hour of music. That's another element to point out, the album is very long and all the songs last from 6 to 10 minutes. The fact that the only major tricks the band used were a cleaner production to pull off such long songs without excessive instrumentation and guest vocals from Malte Langenbrinck of Chaos Invocation for one song is a testament of how effective and forward thinking this album is, while maintaining the DIY aesthetic of "TRVE KVLT" black metal; guitars, vocals, bass and drums. Excellent musicianship and production, what a novel concept! Not to mention that at no point the album has filler, or does it drag for longer than it should, you get a complete and satisfying experience from beginning to end.

There's very little to complain about overall. The band excels at all the black metal check-boxes, and have enough bold experimenting to make a truly unique album, and like I mentioned in the beginning, if you're a fan of Arckanum this album is decidedly for you and you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

Best songs: 'Skuwwe', 'Sunjo', 'Umbibrautiniz'

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 21, 2018.

Druid Lord's latest work of disgust Grotesque Offerings is a death/doom metal spear. It strikes slowly and deep thus inflicting wounds far beyond convalescence. Druid Lord makes precise incisions into the listener's mind by combining highly melodic riffs, with pummeling drum and bass work. The voraciousness of every note being played summons the impression that Grotesque Offerings may have been entirely recorded in analog. 

Druid Lord appeared on my radar when I was browsing through Hell's Headbangers web store. Presented before my untamed, lust driven eyes, was the artwork of Grotesque Offerings which swiftly steered my senses and lured me towards Druid Lord's dark dungeon of dystopia. I refuse to ruin the experience for the listener by revealing the lyrical themes' exact derivatives, however, I will state that most, if not all of it is based on old horror films.The idea of portraying scenes in horror movies through music is a concept I commend and implore Druid Lord to keep embedded within their death/doom metal model. 

The opening track is a perilous tale that is perfectly portrayed by the band's musical craftsmanship. Slow heavy drums materialize and a soothing guitar solo sets the tone of the opening song "House of Dripping Gore", which ceremoniously ushers in the hideous scenarios re-animated and unveiled. The Pete Slate and Benn Ross guitar combination have provided the listener with some of the most unforgettable riffs of the album. Songs such as "House of Dripping Gore", "Murderous Mr. Hyde" and "Black Candle Séance" display patience and brilliance when inscribing or carving the guitar notes onto a blank slate, in hopes of achieving an everlasting impression. 

The drumming throughout the album is particularly slow with some occurrences of mid-paced sections. There is a very thrash metal style of drumming present on "Last Drop Of Blood" more towards the middle of the track and lasts for less than a minute. I enjoyed that sudden shift in speed and ferocity from Elden Santos. The drums are played very vehemently on Grotesque Offerings; there is much feeling and passion evident on each track, thus magnifying the gloom of the doom. Sometimes drummers arrive at the studio just to record their parts on an album. With this attitude, the album suffers tremendously, as most keen listeners of metal can easily identify when the drumming effort appears to be "soulless." One example of this is on Nightwish's 2015 album, "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", (I will chime in on this lazy offering in a future extensive review). That is not the case here, Elden Santos's drumming concretizes the stories being told; each segment featuring his drumming boldly embraces the concepts. 

The vocals are easily understood but sound similar to grunts; they do have a doom metal sound due to Tony Blakk's deep enunciation, however; I would have liked a bit more obscurity in the vocal pronunciation, which would have greatly expanded the evil presence of the music being played. 

Grotesque Offerings holds up well against many other death/doom metal releases of 2018 and 2017. Each song is bathed in addicting, crisp, guitar, bass, drums and vocal work. The samples from various horror movies are an excellent addition to the music. The samples partially paint a grim picture to give the listener an idea of the scene, then leaves the listener to envision the rest, compliments of Druid Lord's superb musical output. I can't wait to get the vinyl version of the album which is currently available for pre-order on Hell's Headbangers.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10