Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction opus Dune–a book I've only read a hundred-something pages of, mostly due to my annoying inability to finish a novel–has gained even more recognition via a wildly popular movie series adaptation featuring Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, and more of the western world's most recognizable actors. I may not know the full plot, but esoteric metal bands sure do, and they're aesthetically adapting it to their music. A recent band to do so didn't initially alarm my life scanners: Arrakis, eponymously named after Dune's central planetary figure, for it is an anonymous project. Their sole, self-titled EP was recently released, and even though this German entity remains unknown, their combination of doomy, atmospheric black metal is more addictive than whatever spice a crawler's mining right now.
Two longish tracks make up Arrakis, and a track-by-track rundown is the only appropriate way to do the record justice.
"Eos" is the first song, the title referencing the dawn. It starts with an audiobook excerpt pulled from Dune's third installment, Children of Dune. The tense atmosphere builds from there for ten minutes, commanded by spacey, sustained guitar notes and a doom metal-like lumbering. The vocalist soon joins the slog, chiming in with solid black metal growls. The piece evolves into a rather riff-heavy segment at about eight minutes, which acts as a segue to an ambient, bass-only ending. The previous song's ending starts the nine-minute "I am the Book of Fate," a more melodious take on it's predecesor. Musically, it's plenty varied, with djent-ish chugs, keyboards, and pleasingly annunciated harsh vocals bestrewn about the environment.
It's just nineteen minutes, and free on Bandcamp. If you want to ride the Dune hype train, or you've been a long-time rider wanting some fitting reading music, look no further than Arrakis. Literally.