TATTVA - NIRJARA

So the opportunity has given me to do another Void Wanderer Productions release in the form of the first full length of the one-man project Tattva called 'Nirjara'. After releasing a split and an EP in 2020, 2021 is the year that Tattva is releasing 'Nirjara'. I've been on a French black metal kick lately so this should be right up my alley.

Without a single doubt, the French black metal scene has been getting more recognition throughout the years. Tattva is quite a new project but you can not hear that back into the music. So everybody knows that French is one of the most beautiful languages there is however, it might be used in a genre of aggressive music like metal music and that is exactly what has happened here. J. is putting down some very aggressive and raw style of black metal. Straight from the first song 'I - In The Name Of Nothing' you can hear the ferociousness in his vocal style.

However, don't expect the black metal that France is known for (the extremely raw black metal). 'Nirjara' does have some elements of progressiveness in its black metal. For what I know about guitars, is that I think that J. uses 7 string guitars to record 'Nirjara'. Which is not an oddball but you can hear it from time to time. Either way, for the black metal that Tattva creates it doesn't matter since he knows how to handle such a big 7-string guitar.

Yes, there are a lot of moments during the second half of the album where you might get lost in the progressiveness of this album however if you are open minded for the musical expansion of black metal you will appreciate such an effort. It really keeps your attention towards the music. I would say that 'Ninjara' isn't an album you put on and listen to in the background. There are way too many tempo changes for that. I would put this album on a train ride or maybe a bike ride (since I'm from The Netherlands, I do that quite often). Or if you are doing a review like this, 'Ninjara' is a blast to review.

You could almost say is that J. is adding an element of doom metal here and there. However the emphasis is on the black metal. For people that are scared of the world progressive, don't let this scare you on 'Nirjara'. It is so much more than that. The album drags you into a journey filled with heavy/eerie and what does feel like a huge load of sorrow and despair. I know that the lyrics have something to do with Eastern philosophy and I'm sorry, I don't know that much about it. The album does 'tell' you a musical story. Even if you left out the vocals, you would still hear a story being told.

To conclude, the album has surprised me on many levels. Even though J. is fairly new into the black metal scene, he did make an amazing album in the form of 'Nirjara'. The album is captivating and what kind of feels like entrancing at some moments in the album. A very good release by a project that might have a great future ahead.