Back in April, I told you all about Greek, antifascist, black metal band Yovel and their explosive style of music. In case you don’t remember, these guys make a sort of high concept, high intensity form of black metal, plunging deep into their politics and unique regional history for their inspirations. Now, the band have announced a new album, Forthcoming Humanity, which seems to supercharge these ideas with futurist images propelling the band’s message into what is to come. Which is not to say they are still not rooted in our current struggles and painful history; “Epitaph”, which we are proud to premiere here today, is a good example of how the band can achieve both. As the band themselves say:
Epitaph is the song of Memory. The Memory of Loss. The Memory of Toil. The Memory of Death. Epitaph is the song of the Will. The Will of the Struggle, the Will of Comradery, the Will of the Many Our Homeland is all the roads; that on their side sleep, the Dead of our Struggle”
Alongside this powerful message comes powerful music. “Epitaph” showcases everything that I love about the band. From the mournful vocals at the track’s center, through the blistering blast-beats and harsh screams that follow, and all the way to the intricate guitar parts throughout the track, Yovel weaponize black metal. Their aim is to use it to channel that sense of loss intermingled with hope that arises within us when we think of all that we’ve lost and all that we’ve yet to gain. This comes to a head in the heartbreaking acoustic guitar section at the end of the track, following a chilling description of unarmed protesters who have been gunned down.
From there, the track blossoms one last time in one of the best riffs I’ve hear from the band yet; the bass does an exceptional job of highlighting this excellently composed, tremolo picked guitar section, setting off its emotional undertones with incredible agility. And that’s the track; a nine minute exultation to fight for what we deserve and remember those we have lost along the way.
Forthcoming Humanity releases on the 2nd of October. You can pre-order it on the band’s Bandcamp page, right here.