Artist: Tírad Dûr
Country: USA
Label: Sekf-Released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2023
As a follow-up to 2022’s ‘Fell Light In Windy Cloud’ arrived to us by the end of 2023, it marks the second release of Kūwāha’ilo’s second offering with Tírad Dûr. In the review of ‘Fell Light In Windy Cloud’ I already analysed the music and compared it the sole member’s main musical entity, Kūka’ilimoku. I have been fascinated by Kūka’ilimoku’s original take on the (Raw) Black Metal scene, lacing it heavily with a Punk and almost Garage sort of structures. Tírad Dûr, on the other hand, is way more straight forward, but almost equally compelling…
On ‘Skeletal Sun’ that musical path is clearly being continued. But there are some differences to address. Alright, the music is still very much harsh and bare boned in nature, the music serves you with riff-driven Raw Black Metal not all too far removed from the spirit of Ildjarn or the Canadian school of stripped down and, yes, punky Black Metal. Compared to ‘Fell Light In Windy Cloud’, this newest work sounds a little more punky and in the process feeling closer to Kūka’ilimoku. Also the more aggressive character of its predecessor seems to be left out, instead it breathes a certain dark and more sinister feeling. The density of the overall sound fits to the slightly more melodious riffs, but it obviously adds to feeling of unease and discomfort. That could be considered as the key elements here. After a short instrumental track, functioning as some sort of intro, the demo starts with its best track. ‘Reluctant to Kill And Wanting To Die’ does not only suggests a feeling of nihilism, its musical content is so dark and haunting it could hardly have any other title. The leading melody that keeps on returning and feels like an ornament to the great humming and buzzing main riff, is a real earworm and a true highlight in Kūwāha’ilo’s musical career.
But while the differences might be rather obvious, ‘Skeletal Sun’ for the most part feels like a logical next step, following the same roughness and unpolished barbarism. A bit of a folky touch and some punky vibes here and there, it only adds to the rich sound of the project. Pretty much like Kūka’ilimoku, Tírad Dûr is undergoing an interesting musical development, definitely worth of checking out. For those who are indeed interested in listening to ‘Skeletal Sun’, for now it is only available as digital stream, but there should be a cassette tape and vinyl version in the works.
