I’ve always been interested in seeing the crawl of metal reach across the globe in different paces and with varying amount of effect depending upon the region. In the Middle East, it’s not as clear with the genre not exactly being the flavor of the week despite some underground acts making a case for themselves. In Africa, we’re granted a good number of lesser-known acts that demand our attention across the globe. Lelahell has long been one of those bands, and their latest album is a testament to their power and raw talent.

Africa is home to many different problems and issues that we in first-world countries simply don’t have that good of a grasp of. Metal bands have never shied away from bringing topical world issues when it comes to the music. Lelahell had quite the opportunity to do that with their record, but taking Algerian folklore as great inspiration as well as modern influences, “Alif” stands as Lelahell’s incredibly proud sophomore effort that shows these guys are far from something that can only produce one solid album. Without holding anything back, these relative newcomers to the scene give us a downright nasty take on death metal that brings in plenty of technical elements to allow “Alif” to properly give us a story of the main character’s constant strife while also continuing to make his own path and carve out his own chapters in life. Riffs galore and a high level of quality that many other African bands have come close to, but only Lelahell has managed to impress me in the end. As if all that isn’t grand enough already, then maybe the inclusion of the renowned drummer Hannes Grossmann will give people incentive to check out this behemoth of a record. “Alif” holds nothing back and consistently delivers to us a vicious listen that shows us this band is sticking true to their style while still moving forward.

Lelahell is a band that I remember checking out years ago when I was first starting out with these reviews, and I can only remember being impressed. Years later and plenty of growth between the both of us, and Lelahell still manages to get my thumbs up as “Alif” is everything that I could’ve expected from this act given its unrelenting nature and no-nonsense attitude.

LISTEN to “Alif” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Lelahell on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Lelahell on Twitter: @lelahellband