Nekhen/Akhet/2014 Full Length Review

  Nekhen  is  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  ethnic,  middle  eastern  music,  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2017  album  "Akhet".

  Middle  eastern  style  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  while  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  while  also  keeping  the  ethnic  elements  along  with  the  song  being  almost  a  half  hour  in  length.

  The  song  is  also  divided  into  four  different  chapters  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  always  sticks  to  either  a  sow  or  mid  tempo  direction  and  some  extreme  metal  vocals  are  also used  briefly. 

  Nekhen  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  his  mixture  of  ethnic,  middle  eastern  music,  black  and  doom  metal  while  also  introducing  vocals  into  the  music,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Egyptian  Ritual  themes  in  the  28th  century  B.C.E.

 In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Nekhen  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ethnic,  middle  eastern  music,  black  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  8  out  of  10.

https://nekhen.bandcamp.com/al bum/akhet
   

Nekhen Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Nekhen is an ancient egypt culture inspired, heavy and dark musical project with heterogeneous influences, blended to create a characteristic eerie atmosphere, evoked by an organic and primitive, yet refined sound.


2.So far you have released one ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Atmospheric, evocative, dark, earthy, narcotic but stirring.


3.You label your music as 'Kemetic metal', can you tell us a little bit about the term?

Since doom, black, and other labels were not completely fitting, I created one. Kemetic come from KMT, Kemet, which means "black earth", that's how ancient egyptians called their land. That's the only defined influence of Nekhen since the musical ones are ambiguous. Actually I don't find even "metal" to be 100% right but "Kemetic metal" is the closest label I've found. It may change in the future.


4.The music concept deals a lot with Ancient Egypt, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

It's always been in me but only some time ago it really blossomed, and the more I dig into it the more it flourishes and comes out. The interest is really for the whole of it, I really cannot say I'm intrested in a particular part of it more than another.


5.So far the music has been instrumental. are you open to using any vocals in the future?

Yes. The idea is to have instrumental EPs which are interpretations of defined subjects (in this first case the Amduat as rappresented in the tomb of Thutmose III, which is the most complete one in different ways) which can cover any periods of Kemet, and full-leghts with some voice which are focused on the predynastic and early period, but are not a piece-by-piece-translation-like thing.


6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nekhen'?

Nekhen is one of the places where it all started, in the upper part of Kemet. It's also known for being one of the first cult places of Horus. It has been one of my inspirations in the overall creative process and at the same time I thought it's the name that went better with the music.


7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians in the future?

Yes, but later on, probably for instruments I don't play like aerophones and harps, as i'm not going to use samples, or maybe some female vocals.


8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I don't have a defined idea about this and honestly haven't thought about it enough. Digital distribution by Sepulchral Silence has been offered to me and I accepted, and it's now about to start.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

The main feedback by now is maybe about the oddness of the genre, also nice feedbacks from Kemet lovers.


10.Where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?

I'm now writing the first full lenght, it's actually taking much longer than expected because the more I compose the more different evolutive possibilities unfold and they have to be explored practically. After this another EP will come.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Really many and different ones, from african and persian classical music to stoner doom or experimental black metal and others. These days I'm mainly listening to Terra Tenebrosa, Belzebong and Nirali Kartik.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Mainly ancient egypt, oriental and ancient spirituality, walking in nature especially at dusk or later.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I'm very thankful for your appreciation and found your questions really nice. Keep up the good work.
dwa ntr n.k, thank you.
Ankh Wedja Seneb

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Nekhen/Entering The Gates Of The Western Horizon/2015 Full Length Review

  Nekhen  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  an  instrumental  and  ethnic  mixture  of  Middle  Eastern  music,  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released 2015  album  "Entering  The  Gates  Of  The  Western  Horizon".

  Middle  eastern  musical  sounds  along  with  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  ethnic  sounds  start  mixing  in  with  the  heavier  side  of  the  music  which  is  mostly  in  a  doom  metal  style  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  melodies  at  times.

  Vocals  and  lyrics  are  absent  from this  recording  with  all  of  the  music  being  instrumental  and  the  whole  album  consists  of  one  song  that  is  divided  into  12  chapters  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  influences  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  and  experimental  at times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Nekhen  plays  an  instrumental  musical  style  that  takes  middle  eastern  music  and  mixes  it  with  black  and  doom  metal  to  create  an  original  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  song  themes focus  on  Ancient  Egypt.

  In  my  opinion  Nekhen  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  mixture  of  middle  eastern  music,  black  and doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Baw  of  the  Duat"  "West"  "Sarcophagus  of  Her  Gods" and  "With  Emerging  Darkness  And  Appearing  Births".  8 out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA7n8KocK9w