Band:	Darkestrah
Album:	The Great Silk Road
Style:	Pagan black metal
Release date:	2008
Guest review by:	Ch'ti

01. The Silk Road
02. Inner Voice
03. Cult Tengri
04. Kara-Oy
05. The Last Step

Darkestrah offers here a very good interpretation of what a snake charmer would play if he were a metalhead.

The album is a pretty good experience, even if it has its faults. Something that thrills me in an album like The Great Silk Road is the environment that it manages to create for the listener, and the album is very successful at this, because listeners are quickly captivated by its charms. This is mainly thanks to the instruments that distinguish the style of the album, which is in my opinion one of the best ways to avoid making a record forgettable.

The vocals are typical of the genre, there is nothing particularly about them that merits in-depth analysis. However, the guitars are excellent, establishing an almost oriental atmosphere at times.

The best part of the record is probably the middle portion; that's where the more thrilling riffs and more interesting music in general are found. The opening track, "The Silk Road", is not the best, because it features quite a classic genre for a good part of its 13-minute runtime, even if at certain moments it does innovate somewhat, notably with a violin that appears in the background right in the middle. Even if the track is objectively good, I still had the impression that I was going to be listening to yet another flavorless black metal album.

Fortunately, the music that follows proves to be the opposite; of note, "Cult Tengri" shines by plunging us into the oriental world. It is the best music on the album by far, and perks up any pessimists. The lyrics of this song are also interesting, with the vocalist raving about the majestic mountain, Khan Tengri.

The album ends with a short piece of music; honestly that's what I expect when I listen to pagan black metal, and it is even more expected following the atmosphere imposed on listeners by The Great Silk Road throughout its duration.

I have some reservations about the album, particularly in terms of the result, which did not particularly satisfy me. It is a bit of an emotional pyramid: indifference, then exaltation, before ending on the predictable. There are still a lot of moments that are not particularly memorable, even if they are still good, and it's a shame, because I felt that the band could go further into the atmosphere they have established.

But overall, the album is pleasant to listen to; you can try it, you will not be disappointed.