Album Review: Kurokuma – Of Amber and Sand (Self Released)

Vicious psych trio, Kurokuma brought a fresh heaviness to the extreme music scene in 2022 with their debut album, ‘Born of Obsidian’. Now, on August 9th, the genre-mashing threesome will return with their new record, ‘Of Amber and Sand’. While ‘Born of Obsidian’ dug deep into the ancient history of Mesoamerican civilisations, ‘Of Amber and Sand’ is based on the colossal concept of time, each track dealing with a different facet of temporality and eternity, probing its significance to creation, civilisation, and the human experience.

Few bands have the impact that Kurokuma had with their debut record, and even fewer bands would be capable of following it up with something bigger, bolder, and better. Kurokuma are back, and back with something truly special in the form of this new album, Of Amber and Sand.

Their uniqueness is on full and impressive display from the start with I Am Forever, as everyone knows, there is no genre trapping Kurokuma. This, and so much of what follows, can be called super-trippy, brutally heavy, ugly and beautiful in equal measures, but importantly, is wholly them. Lots of bands like to say they ‘do their own thing’ but only a handful defy expectations the way Kurokuma do and they’re just getting better at it.

Only a band at the height of their talents and on unbelievable creative form would put something so intriguing and disturbing as Sandglass as a 45-second buffer between the immense opener and immense Death No More. Immense because of the journey that Kurokuma take the listener on and how wild the latter part of the song gets. The words that can be used to sum this track up is ‘thrill ride’, even if it’s a ride that leaves you feeling well and truly mind-f**ked.

Get used to that feeling though as Kurokuma continue to deliver an absolute masterclass in metal diversity. Hitting emphatic high after emphatic high, punishing and rewarding the listener in equal measure, and refusing to drop the intensity once. It really beggars’ belief just how consistently brilliant this album is. Just listen to the likes of Clepsydra, a short ambient piece that lays on the sense of wonder thickly, and Fenjaan, with its funky and psychedelic groove. There’s been nothing quite like that one so far.

Or how about the trio of tracks that make up the middle to latter portion of the album? Kurokuma working even harder to make the concept around this album even more tangible with the haunting Bell Tower (the ringing bell is disconcerting), the retro psych and jam feel that Neheh has, and the brief, but effectively mysterious piece of ambience that is Timekeeper.

Following those immeasurably interesting and unique listens, you could be led to believe that it would be time for Kurokuma to go a little wilder in a simpler way. If that’s what you think, you haven’t been paying attention, because wildness appears in every aspect of this band, it’s just not always expressed in the same way and the word simple just doesn’t exist in their vocabulary.

Once again, they outdo themselves with Crux Ansata, an absolute beast of a track that, once it heavies up, just makes you say ‘oof’. Kurokuma at their filthiest sounding as they let some of their sludge and doom influences seep in. The sharpness of Awakening’s effect is the perfect way to transition into the finale of Chronoclasm, not just the longest track on the album, but the most elaborate and challenging of all.

If there is one example of this band’s creative abilities and their desire to constantly move forward as artists, it’s this track. Not only that, it’s f**king heavy and considering the weight that has been applied across the album so far, should tell you that this track is truly something else. Which sums up the album too, it’s something else and something exceptionally special. Kurokuma have topped what they did previously and in doing so have hit a bar so high that it’s near unreachable for most.

Kurokuma – Of Amber and Sand Track Listing:

1. I Am Forever
2. Sandglass
3. Death No More
4. Clepsydra
5. Fenjaan
6. Bell Tower
7. Neheh
8. Timekeeper
9. Crux Ansata
10. Awakening
11. Chronoclasm

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