From the Vastland – Daevayasna

From the Vastland is a fairly consistent, albeit rare quest. The Iranian one-man band has come into a rhythm of late where he releases a new Full-length release roughly every two years. The latest of these is entitled Daevayasna, which refers to the practice of worshipping the Daevas, chaotic or even malignant god-like entities from Zoroastrian beliefs. As such, it is very clear that From the Vastland’s lyrical themes revolving around Zoroastrianism and Persian mythology is still front and centre, in as clear focus as it can possibly get.

Now, I sadly never got around to listening to the bands former album, but I did review the album before that one for my brethren here at Metal Revolution – And I must say that the four years inbetween the two albums have worked wonders.

For starters, the sound has become more dirty, more rough – Not quite the level of old-fashioned tape recorders, but I certainly sense a nod to that part of Black Metal history all throughout Daevayasna. Aside from that, the additional four years worth of experience is showing, most noticeably in the simplistic, yet very catchy guitar riffs that have been mudded down like all other instruments, but placed squarely at the fore-front of the record; That is, when the guttural growls do not take over in their praise old creatures mostly unknown outside of ancient Persia and Arabia.

At its core, From the Vastland is a one-man Black Metal act from Iran. Most, if not all, of his albums have been mixed and cleaned in Norway which most definitely seems to have influenced his musical approach – As mentioned before, the music is somewhat distorted in a manner similar to one might expect from nineties Black Metal bands of the same location. That being said, however, the musicians Persian roots are strongly felt throughout, mostly through the lyrical source material, but through some musical choices as well – ”Agas” for instance, has a slowly paced passage for instance with a strong emphasis on guitar, high-pitched and simple. And it works.

Overall, Daevayasna is a seven track long Black Metal album with a running total of forty-seven minutes; It is everything I have come to expect from one-man Black Metal bands, given the sheer talent many of them seem to possess these days – But with the added twist of opening my eyes (yet again) to the right cultural heritage of Persian mythology.

Recommended for fans of Gorgoroth (Ghaal-era).

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