From the ancient mountain tops of Shimla within the western Himalayas comes the musical sorcerer known as Harul. His music channels the powerful and secretive essence of his homeland, where the mountains live and breath and alongside her people. His latest offering titled in English, Bharari Ghat is a powerful album with esoteric qualities that captures the mournful lament of Western Himalayas culture’s slow yet steady descent into extinction. Yet, there is still this positive sense of reverence for the unstoppable force and beauty of the Western Himalayas that permeates all throughout this album.
The album has a rather abrasive beginning for those who are unprepared or unfamiliar with the droning nature of a lot of Eastern music. The traditional sounds of percussion and horns mix into a frantic and somewhat haunting beat that captures the listener’s psyche and brings them to those very mountain tops that these musicians reside. Personally, it got me into a deep meditative state after I let the music take over it’s something really profound and I felt helps ease into the rest of the album which is rather different. When getting into the meat of the album, you’ll find a mixture of rustic folk melodies, cellos, and both somber soft spoken singing to harsh, almost ghastly screaming that’s reminiscent of old raw black metal. This blending of styles is rather unique and some have even given this release the label of “Himalayan Doom Folk”, which on the surface level makes sense, but I think this album goes beyond that label and creates something deeper and much more profound. This mixture is also pushed with some of the guitar playing, incorporating that familiar tremolo picked sound, but when done on the acoustic guitar, it adds a unique layer to the sound that I don’t think is done enough on acoustic guitars, especially when there’s connection to metal, even if loose, in the music. The lyrics are also something to note with this album, adapting lines from poems on love and nature, and some of Harul‘s own writings that touch upon those very same subjects again, help push this beautiful sense of wonder and holding this deep veneration for his land and culture. Those who provide guest vocals have done a fantastic job as well, even if they are rather short and simple and somewhat spoken word, its still beautiful and adds a deeper layer of emotion that enhances the listening experience even more.
I praise a lot of albums on Runic Reviews, but, I would say that the one other album that moved me as much as Bharari Ghat has and I’ve written about, just so happens to also be another project Harul is apart of, Primaevus. The uniqueness I think people find with his music and this release is not only because of the culture and the land that he’s from, even though it provides such a beautiful perspective that is very foreign and different to those who are not only unfamiliar with Eastern culture, but of the deep and rich history that the Himalayan region has, but mainly from his delivery of it all, and the passion and deep and very personal emotions that are poured into this. This feels more like a page from his own book of personal thoughts and feelings that has been translated into a beautiful form of auditory art. I get this feeling that this deep expression of love and loss would’ve been expressed in one way or another, but I am very glad its been expressed in this fashion.
While my knowledge of the area of Shimla and the surrounding mountain cultures is extremely little, Bharari Ghat and Harul’s work has made me extremely fascinated with the area, and want to learn and help preserve it in a way that won’t get eaten up by the ever looming threat of extreme globalization due to the Internet and the hyper communication it has provided. This album is an expression of that lament, and a personal one at that. I’m hooked and I can’t stop listening to this album. Any fan of metal or folkloric music, or just simply want to experience something different in the world of underground music, this is where its at. Highly reccomend.