Review Summary: When the desert speaks, we listen.
Wyatt E. could very well be from Mesopotamia, and the musicians involved on the project could also be several hundred years old; I assure you that listening to the first notes of “qaqqari lā târi Part I” this is the first thing that will come to mind, but the truth is that they are from Belgium and probably not too older than you and me. Forget about that fact though, put it aside for a moment and let’s actually immerse ourselves on my first theory, suspense your disbelief for the sake of pure enjoyment because what we have ahead of us is a whimsical pilgrimage to the confines of desert doom.
This is the fourth time the ancestral gods have proclaimed their will through Wyatt E., this time under the cryptic title of
zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1 (Music from inside the ziggurat), but it’s the first time that my psyche has aligned at the right time with their frequency so I could also partake on their reverie. It’s been a revelation, that’s for sure, Wyatt E. know their craft. Think about a heavier version of Grails circa
Burning off Impurities, add some Om and wash it up with some uncanny Dead Can Dance influence and you may be close to have a clear image of their sound. Still, you’ll be far from the real thing, as what I described is just a mirage in the long trek among the dunes and under the scorching sun that is
zamāru …
Five are the scrolls that have been granted to us. Teachings that stem from ancient Akkadian poetry being channeled by the extraordinary voice of Iranian singer Nina Saeidi (Lowen) in the tasteful palette cleanser that is “The Diviner’s Prayer to the Gods of the Night”, to enthralling middle eastern flavored doom like the album’s book ends. Apart from another fruitful collaboration with composer and performer Tomer Damsky in “Im Lelya”, and I write “another” because their fates had already been intertwined in 2022 when Roadburn commissioned them a performance under the name Atonia, along with Five the Hierophant, the rest of
zamāru… is entirely instrumental (ancestral god’s speakers aside).
While the middle sections of this rite of passage are hypnotically tame, the opening and closing offerings are as heavy as a desert’s fever dream. The addition of two drummers to the formula works wonders for this sound, and both Jonas Sanders and Gil Chevigné show they have the chops, not only on the kit, but also on the different percussion elements that enrich every song. The beats are entrancing, comforting, and the rest of the instrumentation serve to this greater common good instead of individual prowess, that is only amplified by unfamiliar textures and mesmerizing melodies that crawl inside your head like boiling snake venom running through your system.
My only qualm about the overall sound of Wyatt E. on this otherwise fantastic piece of work may be that the harsh parts are a bit over-saturated at times. Small detail considering how well incorporated the rest is. Synths merge perfectly and there is a myriad of details that escape my rather vulgar knowledge of oriental music and instrumentation, but that blissful ignorance might be the key element to make the most out of this aural journey through another time and another place. Only the brave will find the answers that lie buried within the ziggurat. The rest… well, Ringo Starr also released a new country album.
