Album Review: Arallu – Death Covenant (Hammerheart Records)

Hailing from the urban Israeli settlement called Ma’ale Adummim in Israel, Arallu is a five-piece black/death metal band that has been around the metal underground for twenty-five years. Death Covenant is the band’s seventh full-length studio offering and will be released on November 11th, 2022 via Hammerheart Records.

Blackened death metal with strong Middle-Eastern tones, the mystique that surrounds Arallu has captivated the underground scene for a very long time. Now, it’s time for them to rise up and spread their dark tendrils to all corners of world. Death Covenant is everything great about Arallu’s unique brand of intensity but it’s also an album that shows progression and growth.

Arallu take nothing for granted and continue to deliver harsh black metal twinned with intense death. Death Covenant is deliciously dark and delightfully heavy. Yet, what makes the album stand out is what has always made Arallu stand out, and that’s the strong Middle-Eastern mysticism they infuse. An element of their sound that is incredibly natural sounding and never overpowering. There’s no confusing just where this album sits in regards to sound. It is a robust rager of a metal album.

Turn the speakers up loud, hit play and let the blackened heaviness wash over you. Prophecy of the Dead, Under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Satanic Spirit, Humanity Death Embrace, Skeleton Battlefield… it will leave you coughing and spluttering for air. With one of the most effective things being just how authentic Arallu sound. After all, this isn’t a blackened death metal band infusing Middle-Eastern tones because they like them, it’s because it’s their actual culture and background.

Listening to their mastery here, you do wonder just what has kept Arallu in the underground for so many years. Their talents are undeniable, their ability to deliver an array of blackened heaviness is indisputable, and they refuse to stagnant. Hopefully, Death Covenant will be the catalysis for a more worldwide audience to experience what they have to offer.

Arallu – Death Covenant Full Track Listing:

1. End Ov Wars (Tikva)
2. Prophecy of the Dead
3. Ruler Of the Seven Worlds
4. Under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
5. Satanic Spirit
6. Mystical Sultan
7. Desert Shadow Will Rise
8. Humanity Death Embrace
9. Empire Of Salt
10. Skeleton Battlefield

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