RBOTD #196: Naraka
Uh oh
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Naraka/3540495905
Country: France
Location: Paris, Île-de-France / Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
Genre: melodic death metal
Formed in: N/A
Status: active
By the Numbers
Naraka is the:
28th band that doesn't have formation data
13th band from France
106th band that is active at the time of querying
Its genre tags have been seen:
Melodic: 26 times
Death: 57 times
Member Connections
A lot. Most of these are via drummer Franky Costanza, who "created the Serial Drummer clothing brand." Narrowing these down to:
Dagoba, a groove/industrial metal band from Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Emma-O, a thrash/death metal band from Switzerland
Carbonic Fields, a prog/groove/thrash band from Le Havre, Normandy
Chabtan, a death metal/deathcore band from Paris, ÃŽle-de-France
Know 'Em?
Nope. I am now 10/196.
Sketch Check
Pass.
RateYourMusic Scores
Naraka's highest-rated album is 2021's In Tenebris, which achieved a 4 average on 2 ratings.
The adjusted score places Naraka in the 81st percentile.
Adjusted scores are calculated similarly to the Trad Belt scoring system. Please read that column for more information.
Trifecta Tracker
Naraka has not achieved the trifecta.
A band can achieve the trifecta by titling a song after itself on a self-titled release. Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" on 1980's Iron Maiden is an example of the trifecta.
No offense to Naraka. This is not your fault. But I hate this so much. I hate this with every fiber of my being. This French quartet pairs two things I can't stand: 2000s melodeath with symphonic bombast. It's as if DevilDriver did an endless encore with Fleshgod Apocalypse. This will be playing as I ride the elevator down to hell.
OK. I promised myself that I would try to be less of a dick, so here's everything nice I have to say about Naraka's "Mother of Shadows": Lindsay Schoolcraft sounds good. She's the best thing about the song by a mile, just like how she was the best thing about Cradle of Filth during her run. A true professional and hooksmith and, wow, does it ever show in this context. It's like when Britney Spears showed up on Kevin Federline songs. Like, all right, finally, someone who knows what they're doing and can craft a chorus. That's it. That's all I have for nice things. Back to blinding rage.
I can't offer any measured criticism because In Tenebris, Naraka's 2021 debut LP, fills me with utter disgust. It's like giving me a shot of rum. It might be the finest rum in the world, it will still make me reflexively barf on impact. Again, this is not Naraka's fault. It is probably competent; Season of Mist co-released it, after all. But, I mean, imagine a poet laureate taking a call on speaker phone on the train or a biochemist curing cancer while eating Cheetos with their mouth open. Let's say those people are absurdly competent. Let's also say that, on balance, those people are good humans. However, at those moments, because of their choices, those people are also doing something that will annoy the shit out of me. I'm even irritated right now, and those people aren't even real.
I hate that I can't listen past my biases here and give Naraka a fair shake. I've always hated stuff like this, though. Symphonic metal is nails on a chalkboard. I'd rather have a Tabasco sauce high colonic. Septicflesh? Hate it. Therion? Hate it. Tristania? Hate it. All of it drives me up a wall for reasons I don't really understand.1 It's just primal, a hatred buried deep within my DNA. My ancestors beat the odds, surviving panthers, natural disasters, and other humans. They propagated, producing generation after generation, each fulfilling their biological imperative and passing their genes on. They lived all around the globe, increasing the genetic diversity. Life after life, ancestor after ancestor, flipping various inherited traits on and off. Eventually, after eons of evolution and acclimation, I arrive on this rock. And within seconds, by harnessing the instincts passed down to me by my forebears, I can simply feel it in my bones: In Tenebris sucks.
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Bal-Sagoth? Bal-Sagoth is great. I don’t get it, either.