Artist: Tünböri
Country: Türkiye
Label: WolfKult Religion
Formats: Cassette EP
Year: 2025
If we have to rely on the numbers provided by Metal Archives, Tünböri are one of just 799 Metal bands that hail from Türkiye, a number that drops to below 250 when we look at just Black Metal bands. Then again, Metal is the genre of defiance, a genre that grows in the underground in the unlikeliest of places. The first statement of that defiance is ‘Kurt Başlı Sancak’, an EP that is now released on Tape by Wolfkult religion.
With a limited history of Black Metal in their native country, Tünböri looked towards the valhalla of 90’s Black Metal, Scandinavia. But the music on their EP is not necessarily inspired by the usual suspect, Norway, but instead blends a bit of Sweden and Finland. It particularly reminds me of Arckanum on their ‘Kostogher’ album, and perhaps even more so of the Finnish Black Metal of Sargeist. Predominantly at an intense pace, there is a hint of melancholy in the subcutaneous melodic progression of the tracks. Not exactly the most original approach, but one that if performed well is instantly likeable and catchy. And that certainly applies for ‘Kurt Başlı Sancak’.
At around three minutes a piece, the first three tracks follow a similar pattern of blistering drums and inherent melody, finished off by hoarse vocals. While the opener ‘Ergenekon’ rages on in uniform pace, the title track has plenty of room for more midtempo groove to accentuate the melancholic character of the riffs. The last track ‘Alk’ is perhaps a bit of an odd one out, more buzzing with subtle guitar notes pushed far back. At a minute and a half in length it does take a more uptempo character, but otherwise serves as an instrumental outro for the EP.
Perhaps Tünböri comes from an unconventional Black Metal background, but that doesn’t change that the outcome of their debut is strictly positive. Nothing outrageously original but played well, with memorable riffs and plenty of power ‘Kurt Başlı Sancak’ offers a little over ten minutes of highly entertaining Black Metal.
