*This is a digital download. It is an exact copy of the files released on the original CD.*
Mamaleek is a true original. Two anonymous brothers recording in a bedroom somewhere in San Francisco, repeatedly creating some of the most intriguing, aesthetically-realized Black Metal anywhere.
The extremely limited releases of their self-titled debut and 2008′s Fever Dream had collectors freaking out – densly-layered, melodic, tinged with Middle-Eastern and World Music influences, experimental and original while remaining, at it's core, listenable and accesible – Mamaleek was making music at the heart of Black Metal's possibilities without becoming bogged down by its increasingly strict genre conventions. (Listen to a few songs on their Artist page.) Mamaleek's Kurdaitcha had been floating around different labels looking for a home when I first heard it. I was immediately blown away by it – it was clearly Black Metal, clearly shared many of the influences that so many of the bands I like tend to share (My Bloody Valentine-esque fuzz, the disembodied synths that wind their way through the distortion) – and yet, they sounded nothing like any other band I was hearing. Here, seemingly out of nowhere, was a fully-realized artistic statement.
This record is the best black metal I have heard in a long, long time. It's one of the best albums I've heard in a long time, period. An absolute must-listen.
