Ayat - Six Years of Dormant Hatred

December 20, 2008

Reviewer: Peter

If you search the world hard enough, there are bound to be a few bands from places that you never thought would be home to metal music.  One such case is Ayat, a black metal band from Lebanon who due to the circumstances in their homeland, often finds it difficult to come out with music.  Complicating matters for them is that their lyric content bashes Islam, the country’s predominant religion.  So it isn’t at all surprising that the band took six years from their debut album to now, with the release of the appropriately titled Six Years of Dormant Hatred.  This band is angry, and they want you to know about it.

It should be no surprise that Ayat begins the proceedings with a serene scene in a typical Middle Eastern town before obliterating it with their brand of violent metal, as evidenced on “Ilahiya Khinzir (All Hail Allah the Swine).”  That song title alone, along with song titles such as “Curses!  Curses!  And Never Sleep...” and “Misogyny when we Embrace,” should also tell you how the band feels about Islam, the religion that is widely practiced in their homeland.  As many people know, this kind of thing could get the band killed if they were to get caught.  After having said that, the band remains defiant throughout the ten tracks on Six Years of Dormant Hatred, which says a lot about the band’s consistency.  The drums, while not perfect, are recorded in a manner that resembles gunfire.  The vocals are full of hatred and are sometimes complimented by female vocals that provide a punk element to the sound.  That same punk element is most abundant on “The Fine Art of Arrogance part one (The Icon and the Cattle),” which gives the listener a different view on the band’s overall sound.  The guitars are equally up to the task, providing some more firepower to the band’s sound.  In short, there isn’t any hiding what Ayat’s intentions are when it comes to music or lyric content.  There are sound effects placed in songs, effects such as pig squeals on “Ilahiya Khinzir! (All Hail Allah the Swine)” and actual gunfire on “The Fine Art of Arrogance part one (The Icon and the Cattle).”  A couple of tracks could have at least been broken into separate tracks, namely “Fornication and Murder” and “Puking Under Radiant Moonlight (Followed by a Century of Ejaculation),” both of which are essentially two tracks in one (per track, not the two tracks are one).  Other than that, Six Years of Dormant Hatred is exactly what is implied, with the slightly raw production amplifying the hatred even more, if that was possible.

By no means is the new Ayat album a masterpiece.  However, it does quite a bit to get the blood boiling and even provides some of the angry emotion that has been absent from most black metal bands nowadays.  Six Years of Dormant Hatred is the band’s way of venting about their situation in their homeland and they aren’t going to take it lying down.  However, given that same situation, releasing another album may take about as long as the album title implies.  Sometimes though, the wait is worth it, as it could give Ayat enough time to build that anger to the point where it all comes out like an explosion.  If you like the Greek one man hatred machine Dodsferd, then Ayat awaits you.

Release Date: November 4, 2008
Label: Moribund Records

TRACK LISTING

1. Ilahiya Khinzir! (All Hail Allah
    the Swine)
2. Fornication and Murder
3. The Fine Art of Arrogance,
    part one (The Icon and the
    Cattle)
4. Collective Suicide at the
    Boudoir (Feeling Wonderful
    Tonight)
5. Puking Under Radiant
    Moonlight (Followed by a
    Century of Long Ejaculation)
6. Misogyny When We Embrace
7. Necronarcos (Tame you
    Death)
8. Curses!  Curses!  And Never
    Sleep...
9. Thousands of Pissed
     Motherfuckers...
10. Such a Beautiful Day! (The
       Exaltation of St. Francis)

     Total playing time: 58:17

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