PREMIERE: Descend into The Basement of the Soul with Black Metal Experimentalists Ayyur

There is that dark corner in one's soul, the one that feels like it's encased in moss and mould, where old pictures of vaguely remembered loved ones hang on the wall, and where it feels damp and slow. The music that, to me, fits that place is always on the cusp and crossroads of many different moods, always changing, always moving, always, well, damp. I'm thinking here of the later Emptiness albums and the most recent Choshech as two clear examples of this kind of unpleasant unsettlement. Ever since I've come across Ayyur's Hidden Room Sessions I last year, I think it's safe to say the Tunisian project fits quite nicely into that uneasy space. Always dramatic, unrelenting, and original, their sound is an amalgam of black metal, new wave, and doom, creating an ever-shifting bedrock of damp emotion.

All of which is more than enough reason for me to be absolutely ecstatic about having the honor of presenting their newest masterpiece in full – the magical, disturbing, and deep Prevail, a magical album due out this Friday via Armées de la Mort Records (CD), Hidden Rooms Recordings (tape), and a joint LP release by Xenoglossy Productions, Hidden Rooms Recordings, and Dead Red Queen Records. It has all the hallmarks of what makes Ayyur unique and great, with an added emphasis on goth and gloom that just further accentuates their unique sound and attitude. Which is another way of saying I fucking love it, and so should you, especially if you're in that weird space that ranges between Emptiness, Suffering Hour and post- A Umbra Omega Dødheimsgard. Which, you know, should be just about everyone.

You can listen to Prevail in its entirely after the jump, and go buy the shit out of their stuff on their Bandcamp and on the label's Bandcamp (where you can find a whole lot more on which to spend your money).

As always, check out my various interview projects and other cool shit. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever I may roam (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and now also a tape-per-day series on TIK TOK!), and listen to my, I guess, active (?) podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You can support our unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit. On to Ayyur.