ARYEM – The Bird’s Assembly

Many things can be said about the global Metal scene. One of those things is the fact that not only does it constantly evolve and change, but also there seems to be some balance there. For instance, back in the early 2010s the Thrash and Death Metal scene in the UK was one of the most vibrant ones one could think of. But now these days are gone, yes I am pretty sure – to almost quote one of the lines from “Help!” by Beatles – because apparently things over there have changed significantly since. But while the UK scene may be slack right now, other ones can get their chance to sprout above the rest. Perhaps the one in Mexico is a good example since there are some bands there that do not laze around. Well, that cannot speak for all these bands, but it certainly does for one called Aryem. Founded in 2012, they released their debut album in 2020. And after one year it was time for yet another record – sounds like these guys just cannot sit still. Here’s The Bird’s Assembly, all the way from Mexico City!

The album starts with an intro composition titled “Hoopoe”. Hoopoe is a bird family with species found across Europe, Asia and Africa. Another interesting fact is that Polish for hoopoe is dudek, just like the surname of the goalkeeper who saved LFC’s hide in the 2005/2006 UEFA Champions’ League Final penalty shootout. But, back to the point: hoopoes are not to be found anywhere in the Americas, so what made a Mexican band name a song so? Well, this album happens to be a concept one, based upon the eponymous poem by a Persian poet Attar of Nishapur. Yes, he might have seen some hoopoes flying around. In case there was some confusion here, now there should be none left. The composition sounds fairly classical and is not particularly long. It is not extremely complex either, and yet there is that element of intrigue to it that just makes the listener sit back and find out what else this album has to offer.

And not even ten seconds through the first proper song on the album one thing is for sure: this is going to be a good album. This positive and yet bad ass energy should make everyone move, even if they don’t love Symphonic Power Metal. “Awakened”, because that’s what the composition is title sounds a fair bit like a mix of German and Nordic Power Metal bands, but mostly it brings Rhapsody to mind. It is however worth pointing out that it doesn’t have as much of medieval sound to it. The overall sound is great; whoever was hired to produce this album, knew their stuff. The bass line can be made out easily and along with the drums it creates a beautiful skeleton that supports the guitars and vocals. The singer may not be Tarja Turunen, but she’s doing a good job nonetheless. And this was only the second track; he third one titled “You Are Insane” starts off with a far more understated tone, which soon changes into what a Symphonic Power Metal band is expected to sound like. This song seems to lack a bit of the catchiness and high energy the previous one is literally teeming with, it also sounds somewhat oversaturated. There’s a bit too much going on here which takes away some of the magic. But fear not – it’s not cheesy.

The album goes on and the farther you go, the less you know – or so they say. The next songs surely have more kick and power to them and not only the aforementioned Rhapsody sound. The fourth track titled “Come To Me” sounds like it was inspired by Megadeth, or at least the song “A Secret Place” off their 1997 record Cryptic Writings, while the lead guitar can make one think of Ace Frehley. Nice to see some diversity as far as the influences go. It is however the seventh track “Surroundead” where The Bird’s Assembly starts properly. With a bit of Gloryhammer sound (no similarities lyrics-wise) it is a really decent song. Starting off rather eerie, it could be used as a part of the soundtrack for a horror movie. Also, the vocals get better and better with every line. Like said before, the second half of the album is definitely a proper kick, especially the ninth track “Broken Scepters of War” – it is a properly mysterious track, although that’s not all there is to it: this song is the heaviest and most powerful one on this album… and that has been achieved without any distortion and much less heaviness. The following song “Reborn” features some beautiful lines from the synths and lead guitar. The Bird’s Assembly sounds like an album where everyone can find something for themselves. The concluding track, being the title one (but in Spanish) is 15 minutes long and is no less interesting than the previous ones. And the hoopoe is back! That is a cool way to finish a good album for sure.

Overall, The Bird’s Assembly is a good record, especially as it’s only the band’s second one. If there’s any word of advice that could go the band’s way, it would be this: show more confidence and never be embarrassed to show who you are – because you already are above some bands (the names will not be listed out of courtesy and possibly legal reasons too, who knows) that are known worldwide. The world is Aryem’s oyster for sure. Hopefully they release some more stuff that is at least as good. And in case the above description was not enough to have someone convinced to check this album… the 8th track, “Just One Night”, is probably the best song of them all. How good is it? It’s so good that if the most picky Symphonic Metal fans heard it, they’d dig it as if it was their garden right after they were told a crate of beer (or a bottle of rum perhaps?) had been buried there. More needs not to be said. Everyone reading this, go check Aryem before they make it big.