There have been stellar Black Metal bands coming out of the Middle East for years: Melechesh, Akvan, and Orphaned Land, to name three. Nile, while playing Middle Eastern Death Metal, is still from South Carolina, so they barely qualify (in sound only). So, having said that, I’m here to talk about Gomma, a one-man outfit from beautiful Tunisia and their (his) brand new album (well newer. This album was released last year and is now being re-released by Hypnotic Dirge. Weird, I know, but it’s whatever.)

The main man is Ghramm, and according to Metal Archives, he plays “everything”. So there ya go. As far as album lengths go, I reviewed Esoctrilihum, and that album was an hour and a fucking half long. This record is a shorty, running thirty-one and fifty-six minutes without losing any neck-snapping moments.

How is it? Pretty fucking good. It’s not Emissaries. It’s raw and dirty, full of sand and grit; it suffers a bit from the one-man lack of quality control, as most songs stick to the four-minute mark; this is fine for this type of album. Starting with the blistering “La’anat Al-Woujoud (لعنة الوجود)”, the production is wafer-thin, definitely a dude in a basement with a four-track quality. It’s unapologetically raw. It’s almost Graveland-ish on “Wahat Al-Shouroud (واحة الشرود)”, there’s a cool mixer of Sitar (is that a sitar? I think it’s a sitar) and raging drums and guitars.

The mid-paced “Ana’a Al-Majarra (عناء المجرة)” keeps your attention with its killer riff structure and a wild solo. Wailing and Madness doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and the real surprises here are the Middle Eastern instruments, but songs like “Dana’at Al-Amr (دناءة الأمر)” are only elevated by the Middle Eastern melodies that poke through. Otherwise, this is just a good Black Metal album.

“Washma Ramad (وشم رماد)” is a cool Dimmu Borgir throwback track that brings to mind For Al Tid and Stormblast vibes. It’s got a crazy sitar solo against this sort of standard Black Metal track, the vocals are gravel and graveyard dirt, and work really well against the backdrop of blasting and wailing guitar work.

“Alhan Sarmadeyah (ألحان سرمدية)” sees the production drop a bit more. There’s literally no bass on Wailing and Madness, Metallica’s …And Justice for All has more bass presence than this. Which is kind of disappointing because without that low end, everything is sort of abrasive. “Hebr Al-Akwan (حبر الأكون)” has some killer ideas floating around in there. The mid-paced aspect of the track is suitably menacing, creating a new level of gravitas, but after a while it starts grating on the ears.

Final track has some badass acoustic work around the two-minute mark “Shorfat Al-Fana’a (شرفة الفناء)” is one that could’ve been on Deathcrush. Primitive riffing and thunderous drums keep things interesting but the song ultimately ends too quickly without using its full potential.

At the end of the day, I’m left with a good Black Metal album with Middle Eastern melodies. It could be great if there were more bass and a bit more oomph. If you are a fan of Melechesh and Al Nimrood, you’ll probably love this. So go get this if you want.

[Visit the band's website]

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