Look up the word ‘kafirun’. In Arabic, it translates to ‘unbeliever’ or ‘atheist’, but Canada’s most violent black metallers Kafirun aren’t addressing Islam or its treatment of Al-Kafirun on debut album, Eschaton. Says the band in a group statement, “In our lyrics, we do not have anything about Islam at all. Our concept is about death and nothingness. We try to not use generic occult notions. Surely, we are influenced by the old beliefs, the occult, myths, esoteric ideas, and the Luciferian path, but we try to create our own concepts. Death is the only true god, and it is the only god that reveals itself to living things. So we explore death, nothingness, and what lies beyond the boundaries of the flesh. Some things are incomprehensible to a man and can only be experienced through death. So Kafirun is against the monotheistic dogmas and submission to their teachings on a philosophical level. It is a flame, an idea for a total chaotic new beginning on the individual level.”
If that sounds like the cup of Luciferian ichor you’re into, well, proceed further. Decibel and Australia’s Séance Records (Pestilential Shadows, Nazxul) have teamed up to present the opening track, “Lord of Blessed Murder”, off Eschaton. At once, barbaric and malign yet contemplative and ethereal, “Lord of Blessed Murder” recalls the mightiest tracks by peers Thantifaxath, Funeral Mist, and Blut Aus Nord. But there’s a different thread that Kafirun pull from the Stygian plane. They feel like they’re playing music from a distant yet darker past. There’s distance in their aggression as if it’s at arm’s length but still menacing and vicious.
Says the band of “Lord of Blessed Murder”: “The track ‘Lord of Blessed Murder’ is inspired by the first murder; Cain and Abel. Brotherhood tainted by the spilling of blood and with it the revelation of death; the enlightenment of death ending the illusion of life. The song ties in with the theme explored throughout Eschaton, the concept that death is the only true god, and death is the only god that reveals itself to living things. We explore death, nothingness, and what lies beyond the boundaries of the flesh. Some things are incomprehensible to a man and can only be experienced through death and the first murder revealed death to humankind”.
So, bow down on this first of June, 20 days before the estival sun reaches its zenith, and give respect to Kafirun and their “Lord of Blessed Murder”.
