Those looking for some extreme symphonic metal that leans toward the symphonic elements will want to give a listen to the Gog Magog (ep) by Barchati.
From information I can find, Bacharti is or at least started in 2021 as a solo project in the Netherlands by Boaz van Kuijeren. That’s about the extent of what I can find. The Gog Magog ep is the first release from the project and the 6 song ep is nearly half an hour long. Production quality for the project is very good with the black metal shrieked and growled vocals clear and nearly intelligible while the symphonic and metal elements are blended well. From a subject standpoint, Gog and Magog are found primarily in the Old Testament of the Bible (also in Revelation in the NT) and usually represent evil directly opposed to God. Obviously there is more to that but we’re here for the music.
“Tyre” opens up the album and begins calmly enough with some Middle Eastern instruments only to abruptly switch to black metal deep growled vocals backed by slow, grinding guitar and pounding drum before the song shifts gears multiple times, settling into a faster pace. The song itself is about the fall of the city of Tyre and while the symphonic elements dominate in the mix, the underlying guitars and drums provide a solid foundation.
“Teshuvah”, (meaning repentence or return, and also the ten days between Jewish Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur about returning to a right relationship with God is the second song. The track opens up with some choir like vocals backed by slow drum pounding to provide emphasis. Here again, there are slower and faster parts of the song and it picks up a bit of groove when the blast beats aren’t firing. In this case we have whispered and growled black vocals throughout the song that add to the dark atmosphere. It’s interesting as the characteristic droning guitar in some black metal is handled in multiple ways on the album with symphonic elements picking it up in some cases.
“Tohar” (meaning purity) begins with some plucking on a clean string instrument being joined by symphonic elements with tension building and then leading straight into a short groove before the droning guitar verses come in. In this track the vocal selection also includes some spoken word for variety. I like the section of the song that uses symphonic elements to cover what would normally be a pounding staccato-like riff.
“Meshech and Tubal” is one of the most straightforward metal tracks on the album and starts out with driving groove riff and then later incorporates some of the characteristic drone riffs in black metal as well both relying on a mix of guitars and symphonic elements. While the actual lyric content escapes me, this song fits well with the album title as Meshech and Tubal in some parts of the Bible refer to regions of anti-God forces ruled by Gog, prince of Magog. Around the 4 minute mark the song seems to abruptly end only to quickly restart driven by symphonic elements in a jarring manner.
“Lost Control” and “Turbulence” close out the album and also are two tracks that stand out a bit as different from the rest. First off they don’t have the Hebrew titles and both have some heavier guitar driven sections in them compared to the previous tracks. I do have to say these are my two favorite tracks on the album and that’s more likely due to them following more traditional metal song structure and instrumentation than the other tracks.
For a debut ep, Bacharti is quite impressive on multiple levels. First the production and mixing is good for what I believe was the goal. Second, the concept of blending symphonic elements with extreme and black metal is a difficult one to comprehend until you’ve actually heard it. I will say that it takes a couple of listens to fully grasp what is going on, but my opinion changed radically during that time and I found myself listening to the ep much more than I anticipated. Anyone who listens to extreme metal should give this a few listens.
Written by John Jackson
Rating: 7.5/10
Tracklist
- Tyre
- Teshuvah
- Tohar
- Meshech and Tubal
- Lost Control
- Turbulence
Band Members
Boaz van Kuijeren – all instruments/vocals
Release Date:
Record Label: Independent/BCVK-Audio, 2024