A mara is a rodent from Patagonia and some other areas in Argentina. That’s biology. This site is not about nature science, although beastly attitudes and carnivorous behaviours are not uncommon…
Mara, not to be confused with the Swedish Death Metal combo or the Heavy / Doom band with the very same name, is a solo project of some guy called Vindsval, not to be confused with the Blut Aus Nord’s frontman. Oh, sweet confusion… After some demonstrational recordings at the beginning of this decade, a first album got released in 2015 (Seidr), followed in 2018 by Thursian Flame. In the meantime, a third one was recorded, and after signing to Belgium’s Immortal Frost Productions, RÖK got pressed and released in an edition of 1,000 copies on compact disc (with an eight-page booklet, and visually attractive through splendid – and fitting – cover artwork), and it got made available the digital way.
The band focuses on ancient Nordic Pagan themes and the relationship with contemporary misanthropy, as well as Vindsval’s disgust for humanity, which we do proudly and convincingly share, evidently. The cover artwork says a lot, but it’s when he expresses his hatred against man(kind)’s being via sonic sources, i.e. Black Metal, then his message gets clear - eh, dark, I mean - immediately…
Opener Bloodbound starts with a short acoustic introduction, with sort of an epic character, but very soon (less than thirty seconds) later, everything turns into bleak, nasty sonic majesty. The heathen thematics get expressed by a very Nordic-sounding approach, spiced by epic pride at the one hand (I can refer to that opening track once more: listen to the mid-part of Bloodbound to enjoy the glorious and victorious majesty that used to characterise everything from Bathory to Urgehal); and bludgeoned mercilessly by sonic terror à la Tsjuder or Enthroned.
In general, RÖK indeed stands for that kind of blackened malignancy that finds inspiration within different related scenes, being the Nordic (+/- Scandinavian) one, the all-transcending blaspheme one, and the universal / timeless, yet hugely Second Wave-inspired one. This material is fast, chopping (listen to those merciless drum salvos), furious (imagine that frenzy throat…), yet still maintaining a melodious approach too. And once in a while, a slower piece sort of brings relief (I mean ‘mental relief’, not forgiveness or spiritual tranquillity!).
Despite that mainly attacking approach, RÖK turns out to be a diverse, varying album. As said, the better part is like a blasting eruption, expressing main member Vindval’s love and sweet hugs for the human kind / unhuman kindness, yet the tempo, the structures and the performance permanently shows a well-thought variation. For some reason, it is a necessity, yet still; it is more than a coincidental thing going on. The one time, you’re going to war without fear, then again you’re returning from a battle (which you did, evidently, won); then you’re reflecting on a conquest yet to come, or melancholically musing a combat quite a while ago…
Another surplus for sure are the acoustic or semi-acoustic intermezzos that appear on a regular base. No, these excerpts are not tiresome or fakely soothing, nor are they created to show some musician’s skills (though, they do – but that was not the goal!); I often get nauseous by a (fake) use of acoustics, but I think that, in Mara’s case, the use of these chapters isn’t but a surplus. It shows a professional approach, yet at the same time it is like a counterbalance against the merciless fury that covers most of the album.
A short remark about the sound quality – well, of course (what else did you expect) this one is rough, unpolished, edgy and scraping. For the 666th time I can easily conclude with: what else, this is the sole fitting way to, and so on. But for once I might come up with a tiny remark, for I think that the mixture could have been done little more detailed. No, I won’t say that the result is a mish-mash of sounds, but the rhythm guitars and bass guitars are, to my (hugely important) opinion too ‘absent’. But hey, it is not a reason to dislike this piece of harshness for sure…
Recommended if - well, imagine a bathorian or gorgorothian mixture of Urgehal, Beastcraft, Enthroned, Tsjuder, Aosoth or Aaskereia, and you’ll come close to what these thirty-six minutes of warlike elegance stand for…
https://www.immortalfrostproductions.com/releases/mara/mara-rok-cd/
https://www.shop.immortalfrostproductions.com/product-category/ifp-releases/