Këkht Aräkh

About

" A ghostly, gothic take on black metal "

The presence of both a rose and a sword on the cover of Këkht Aräkh’s last album, 2021’s ‘Pale Swordsman’, pretty much sums up what you can expect from their brand of black metal. Blending an eerie, more melancholic take on the genre with more traditional elements lends their music a doomed, romantic quality and a somewhat lo-fi aesthetic; “perfect for Gen Z goth doomers” is how one review (Këkht Aräkh – Pale Swordsman – Reviews – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (metal-archives.com)) summed up the appeal. Certainly, few practitioners are so adept at swirling dark ambient passages and soft, desolate ballads with raw, distorted power in such an accomplished – and stylish – manner.

As such, Këkht Aräkh has been heavily hyped – and that album cover much meme-d – and it’s not hard to understand why. The solo project by Ukrainian Dmitry Marchenko – who also sometimes goes by the name Crying Orc – is shrouded in mystery as thick as the atmospheres he conjures: beyond residing in Berlin, not much is known about him. Yet it’s not just fans that have been enamored; originally released by tiny Finnish label Livor Mortis, ‘Pale Swordsman’ was picked up by super cool, critically lauded label Sacred Bones in 2022, the ultimate seal of tastemaker approval.

Këkht Aräkh’s forthcoming album promises to build on their raw, bold, ghostly blasts and fragile beauty; new single ‘Between Eerly Howls Of Wind’ showcases more of the former, but is no less beguiling for it (it also doubles down on the lo-fi stylings). Perhaps, like his music, Marchenko is just more comfortable operating in the shadows, letting his work speak for itself. Either way, it remains as captivating as that cover shot – and every bit as symbolic.