SAGAN'S DISCOVERY OF 2018 : CRESCENT
I am passionate about few things, but ancient civilizations and metal are two subjects that I live and breathe. When I find a band that flawlessly mixes both, I am all ears, however it’s not something that happens often. Over time, I have come to know which of those I enjoy and which ones I can do without; this leaves a small selection to enjoy, so to have a new band rear its head and make the cut is very exciting for me. For that reason, I have to give my Discovery of the Year 2018 honours to Crescent. The band from Cairo combines Egyptian mythos and extreme metal, with their arrows in the same quiver as bands like Melechesh, Nile, Al-Namrood, and Narjahanam. They conjure up blackened death with North African/Middle Eastern rhythmic folk influences, combined with guttural vocals that echo straight from the burial chambers of great pharaohs. My first impression of Crescent was that they sounds like what I always wished Nile would sound like. No hate for Nile; they are very talented and certainly have shown why they are revered, but as much as I love their instrumental pieces and their lyrics, musically they have never really been my cup of tea. Crescent, on the other hand, sold me instantly when I first heard their 2018 album The Order of Amenti. I can only describe their sound as being very similar to Melechesh — which is great because I absolutely love that band — but with classic deep death growls instead of shrill black metal vocals. You can track down Crescent's previous works on Bandcamp, but in my opinionThe Order of Amenti is a redefining album for their sound, and definitely worth a listen (or twenty) over the others. The Egyptian band has performed at European festivals in the past, including Wacken in 2014, but I really hope to see more of Crescent on the international scene in the coming year; I think they have what it takes to become giants in the genre.
