Album review: Kurokuma – Of Amber And Sand

‘Infinity is hard to comprehend,’ sang Bruce Dickinson in 1988, and the Maiden singer wasn’t kidding. Of any abyss into which you might choose to stare, endless time is surely the deepest and most sanity-testing. Not to mention, judging by this tremendous second album from Sheffield's Kurokuma, absolutely perfect subject matter for a psychedelic sludge opus.

They have some form on this front, with the trio’s 2022 full-length debut Born Of Obsidian having taken inspiration from ancient Central American civilisations. Of Amber And Sand goes even further, widening the remit by tackling time itself, from the ephemeral to the eternal. Fenjaan and Crux Unsata consider the remorseless way it ultimately runs out for us all, while Death No More finds equal dread in boundless infinity.

The mantric repetition of opener I Am Forever fits the track’s concept while also reassuring that, however intellectual the band’s subject matter, they’re still masters of weighty riffing at its most pre-historic. It also features Ottoman instrument the baglama; where last time the band incorporated Latin influences, Of Amber And Sand draws on the music of the Middle East and Balkans, a not entirely ersatz move given guitarist/vocalist Jake Mazlum’s Armenian roots. Indeed, with the frontman now living in Bulgaria and drummer Joe Allen engaged in ongoing travels through these regions, the band who once released a tape called Sheffield’s Best Metal Bands Vol 1 are now a truly international outfit.

By accident or design, this album even warps time itself, feeling much longer – in a good way! – than its 38 minutes. Perhaps this is down to its many interludes or the epic nature of closing track Chronochasm. But what isn’t hard to comprehend is that Kurokuma remain one of the most adventurous metal bands in the underground.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Conan, Kylesa, Ufomammut

Of Amber And Sand is out now