The oddly-named Muawijhe is a brand new blackened death metal band from Finland that released their first demo, AEON, on the last day of July. The members weren't involved in any other projects before this, so I am quite interested in seeing what these guys can muster.
What they've made here is quite unorthodox, to say the least. The drums mainly stick to mid-paced rhythms and slow doomish beats, with a few fills thrown in to keep things exciting. The guitars are a bit more out of the ordinary. They still play your standard slow doom/death riffs, but they also play these strange high-pitched riffs that sound like they emanated from some long-forgotten chasm from deep within the earth. Did I also mention that, on the second song, the band plays these strange trumpets that further enhance the unsettling atmosphere?
Most bizarre of all are the vocals. The guy mainly performs this strangled scream that has this almost aquatic-sounding reverb effect applied to it. It makes him sound like an ancient entity that emerged from the deepest trench in the ocean. However, he also performs these strange clean vocals that sort of remind me of Devin Townsend. Their performance easily beats Catarrh in the weirdness department. At least the growls sound normal. Since these guys are Finnish, they could have sealed the deal by making the growls sound like Demilich. Then they'd be the king of strange.
Muawijhe is easily one of the strangest bands I've heard in a long time. They might not be as strange as !T.O.O.H.!, but they rank pretty high. I still like it, though. Most of the bands I've been listening to as of late sound exactly the same, so these guys are a great change of pace. Give 'em a chance. I think you might like them.
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