It is not often that my good friend and colleague ‘Trendcrusher’ asks anything of The Great Mackintosh, so when he does, I tend to take note, and thus it is so with this review, or more specifically, the band in question that he has asked me to check out. Private Government hail from the Dubai region in the United Arab Emirates, and are the brainchild of Miltiadis Kyvernitis, a man of Greek-Cypriot heritage. This is their second release after their debut “Diavatirio”, which included a cavalcade of talent from the local underground community. This time he teams up with Joseph Akkawi again to bring us a more updated version of his vision of the state of the world.
“Miltiadis Kyvernitis is joined on the album by lead guitarist and co-producer Joseph Akkawi. Come and Take features a line-up of guest musicians from a wide variety of musical backgrounds including award winning hip-hop producer Swerte, internationally acclaimed bassist Rami Lakkis, industry vocalist Nadeem Bibby of regional progressive-metal band Anuryzm, guitarist Royden Mascarenhas of Point of View, Serge Lutfi of Aramaic and Soul singer Hamdan Al-Abri. Of ABRI”. There is a direct quote from the accompanying press release that can do a far better job of explaining the line-up than I ever could, and this then leaves us free to discuss the album at length now that you know who’s who.
Okay, the first thing that I am going to say right at the beginning is that you need to listen to this album from start to finish. No hitting skip or any other nonsense, just give it one good thorough go through, and then you will be in a far better position to judge from. I myself found myself all over the shop even just trying to take notes such is the diversity of material on display here, and in the end just decided to stop trying to concentrate so hard on what the bloody hell was going on and just began appreciating the journey. Yep, there’s a lot of stuff on display over the course of this one, so take a little time to familiarize yourself with it.
“End of Days” commences proceedings, and starts things with an almost ‘soundtrack to the greatest movie you have never seen’ kind of slant. It is both moving and memorable, painting a mindscape depending upon your very own imagination. What I see in my minds eye when I listen may not be what you see, but it is indeed a great way to start off. Enter “Come and Take”, and we have an entirely different beast upon us. Thrashy, melodic, technical, how the hell am I supposed to describe this, other than to say this is just plain fucking awesome. The biggest problem with this band is trying to fit them into a pigeonhole, and needless say I’m just gonna stop. I can only describe to you how they come across to me, and that’s going to have to suffice.
Name a genre, a style, even a musical direction if you will, and these guys will just show you another, and another, ad infinitum. Hints of Melodic Death, Symphonic Death, straight out Thrash, Trad Metal, even fucking Viking Metal, and then some, appear. If I was of the will to list a bunch of bands that are comparable it would contain very few. “Eyes Wide Shut” is a rollercoaster of so much, and is thoroughly enjoyable for it! “Genocide” brings back a little more of the pomp and majesty of a soundtrack landscape before launching into some of the finest maniacal riffery ever known to man. A tour de force of instrumental wonder. Oh yes indeed.
“Thermite” has an almost Swedish Melo Death sound about it, and admittedly a lot of this album does, but that is not a bad thing in this reviewer’s eyes, but this review is not about naming names, nor comparisons with other bands, it’s about sharing this marvel with the rest of you. “Lair of Hela” brings a somewhat different edge to proceedings with one hell of a different vocal delivery, but the message still remains, that being sheer vicious razor sharp riffs piled upon a megaton of anger. Almost a war cry this one, and a damn fine banner they are flying right here.
I have four more tracks to cover here, and I usually don’t spend so much time trying to explain an album to the masses, but this needs to be done, so stay the course. “Tainted with Blood” opens atmospherically, then becomes a song that any fan of either Death Metal or even Brutal Death needs to hear. Such fucking immensity, such raw power. Shit the bed folks, this is exceptional, and my ears just can’t get enough. “Exodus” turns it all right on it’s head once again, slowing things down a tad so that we may breathe, at least for a moment, then taking us on a ride that even a seventh son of a seventh son would admire.
Last two, “Four Minute Men” lies to you straight from the outset because it actually goes for just on six minutes, but we can forgive them this, mainly because the song is another ball shredding epic. The kind of music that nations could go to war with if they were so inclined, and that flag of theirs just keeps getting raised higher. Bold, ambitious, and glorious all in one. The end? “Rising Sun”. Piano work always leaves an imprint, and has the right texture to invoke a certain feeling of sadness. Yes, the guns are out as they say on this one, they leave no stone unturned to make you feel a sense of loss as they fade away into the proverbial sunset. A certain sense of mourning to be sure, no words, just the sound of awesome.
Brilliance of which you must surely partake.
Rating: 4/5
Get on it below!
https://privategovernment.bandcamp.com/album/come-and-take
The Metal Wanderlust 