No Hand Path - An Existence Regained
Greece is home to the best Black Metal bands in the universe, so whenever I learn about the existence of a new one, naturally I want to hear them as soon as possible. No Hand Path was upgraded from “as soon as possible” to “immediately” because the drummer and bassist are also in Varathron! That set my expectations pretty high, and while NHP does not quite outshine the abyssic masters (but, really, what could?!?), An Existence Regained is an impressive debut. Be warned, though, there are considerable Prog Metal elements here amid the extremity, occasionally including what some refer to as “clean” vocals. They are very well done, though - Ramin can really sing, and his harsh shrieks and tortured wails are as raw and tormented as I’d hoped they would be. The Prog influence is felt instantly, as the first song, “Birth of Consciousness,” initially really took me by surprise, sounding almost like something from Voivod’s Nothingface album. The complexity remains (and increases in a lot of places, both in terms of difficulty and how layered everything is) throughout the album, and is blended with occasionally simpler riffs and stunning drumming. Looking at the song titles, I think that An Existence Regained may be a concept album, so perhaps it makes sense that I had to listen to this several times before I really got a feel for it (I didn’t have the lyrics in front of me, which may have helped). If you like your Black Metal to be performed by artists who can actually play their instruments, then “as soon as possible” isn’t nearly fast enough to check out No Hand Path.
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