Egyptian Black/Death Metallers Crescent Unveil Latest Single, “As Nu Enshrines Death”

Crescent have been kicking around in Egypt’s murky metal underground since 1998. I won’t pretend to have followed their career to this point, so I’ll take their biography’s word that they’ve undergone quite a few stylistic (and member) changes over the ensuing 23 years. Here’s what I can confidently say, though: what they’re doing right now, after more than two decades of refining their craft, is absolutely working!

Take the band’s new single, “As Nu Enshrines Death.” The currents of both death and black metal are strong here — think Behemoth, Rotting Christ, Unleashed, etc. — but it’s the band’s use of traditional Egyptian musical ideas within those styles that makes them stand out from the pack. The integration is seamless, too, never just one or the other, all or none; it’s one package of expertly crafted and arranged music, as dynamic as it is powerful.

Here’s what the band has to say about their latest album, The Fires of Akhet:

“‘The Fires of Akhet’ represents the great divine will that was carved into humanity’s history and future. A value that brought nations to their apex and brought others to their knees, and the cycle goes on. Lyrically, the album touches upon a primeval epic story that is full of struggle and blood. It also reflects drunkenness with divine power, and pure evil in its religious and historic form (and beyond). Finally, the album lays a dark path of philosophical and material decay. The themes will not only be represented by the sound, but also by artworks that relays the sub-themes. It manifests Crescent’s growing identity and beyond any of its previous works, starting a new era for the band.” 

Give “As Nu Enshrines Death” below. Carving the Fires of Akhet comes out on July 16 via Listenable Records; pre-order here