Review by Jeger
Darvaza – We Are Him
Record Label: Terratur Possessions
Year: 2025
Rating: 7/10
When Black Metal is created in homage to The Devil, it is of the truest kind. Old-fashioned adversarial Black Metal for the donning of the cloak and for the enthrallment of the sacrificial night. For bones and dirt. For bonfires and sweat. Willing it all over to Him now in all of his diabolical glory! With music we ode. With music we forge unholy weaponry…
Norway/Italy’s Darvaza formed in 2015 with a vision for Black Metal that falls in line with how the genre was founded. And with three EPs, one boxed set and one, soon to be two LPs to boast, they’re proving to be a rather prolific force as well. Satanism is a broad term and somewhere beneath its massive umbrella, you’ll find Darvaza. Their message of liberation through free thought and the blasphemous sentiment behind their craft are both classic BM concepts that Darvaza portrays with both classicism and ingenuity. A duo of the most experienced kind: multi-instrumentalist, Omega and vocalist, Wraath, have each participated in a large number of projects to include: Macabre Omen, Chaos Invocation, Behexen, Enthroned and Whoredom Rife. On December 5, Darvaza will release their sophomore effort, “We are Him”, via Terratur Possessions.
Darvaza
One of those nasty ones… Apart from a pretty epic intro to the opener, “Holy Blood”, “We are Him” is filth, grime! But in a good way. Something redolent to Mayhem’s “Daemon” LP, but with this gritty Armagedda or Urgehal vibe that bolsters this record’s status as a true Black Metal album. Not much in the way of bedazzlement or intensity, just digging deep, dragging low and with horrifying melodies fit for necromancy to compound it all. “We are Him” is a mostly mid-tempo album with moderate blast-beats and mellow double-bass currents. Riffs that scale not too high but remain tonally balanced and the energy is akin to Deströyer 666’ debut, “Unchain the Wolves”, or Watain’s “Sworn to the Dark”: aggressive, unruly and primitive. At the midway point, you’ll take in “Lazarus” – a slow-burner – Black & Roll grooves a la Satyricon, huge rhythms like those of Rotting Christ and ritualistic as the above-mentioned Behexen.
I’m not hearing a whole lot in the way of material that demands a second or a third listen. In fact, I will say that “We are Him” is a rather boring album… There’s little variation when it comes to shifts in tempo, nothing too gripping in the riff department and the overall tempo is sleep-inducing; not really slow; just paced evenly so as to lull you into trance just before you’re off to Slumberville. It’s just not memorable! I’m usually all over albums like this one, but they can’t all be winners. “We are Him” is a true Satanic Black Metal record through and through. It just happens to be mediocre. There are a thousand Black Metal bands out there who sound just like this. I’m not hearing anything here that truly differentiates Darvaza from the countless other BM’ers who are doing the same thing.
The energy is thrilling at some points. It is definitely genuine. “We are Him” is most certainly a recording that means a lot to Darvaza, and that truth can be felt through the energy of the music and heard in the passion of its players. However, the only really great track on the album is the closer, “Darvaza” – a statement of a cut that apparently represents everything that this band stands for on both musical and spiritual frontiers. The intensity is dialed up and everything feels fresh in comparison to the rest of the stock. But still nothing to write home about.
What potential… “We are Him” is a decent album. It is good enough for Omega and Wraath to be able to walk away from it feeling good about themselves. Some people will like it. It’s just not special. Tried & true thematics, decent Black Metal, very good Black Metal band. Not too bad, not too good…
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