Nahurak
Adversarial Ligature

August 2010
Released: 2010, Final Legion Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz

From the Nahurak website:

“NAHURAK- Among the Pawnee, the generalized name given to animal-spirits who lived in five houses: Pahuk (the most important), Nakiskat, Tsurapako, Kitsawitsak, and Pahua (the least important).”



In addition to being the name given to Native American animal spirits, Nahurak is (currently) a two piece death/grind outfit from Oklahoma. Light on the frills and heavy on the heavy, the band’s debut EP ADVERSARIAL LIGATURE is five tracks of brutal social commentary. The guys stick to pretty traditional death/grind formulas, but the execution is spot on. Fast, menacing, unrelenting riffs-a-plenty are the order of the day, reminiscent of bands like Nile, Origin, and maybe even some early Malevolent Creation. And though reminiscent of various genre staples, the tunes come off as original and their execution is impressive.



The high/low vocal mix offers the songs some additional dimensions and keeps things interesting – 2 parts death scowl, 1 part guttural mush = 100% awesomeness. Nick and Brian handle all of the instruments on the disc, but you’d never guess that if you didn’t know beforehand. The production sounds great and the individual instruments sound full and precise. Yeah they used a drum machine, but it doesn’t sound obvious or mechanical. And besides, they’re actively looking for a replacement drummer. Beyond the performances themselves, the overall production in general sounds great – everything is right where it should be in the mix, and there’s just enough polish on top to brighten things up.



The lyrical inspirations for some of the tracks are available on the band’s website, and there’s some pretty interesting topical exploration going on here. It’s better than the typical guts n’ gore you’d expect from the genre, and it’s always enlightening to get into the mind of the writer. Bottom line - ADVERSARIAL LIGATURE is a great debut from a couple of really talented guys. Definitely worth investigating further, check out Nahurak’s website for more info on how to pick up a copy.