Being Middle Eastern myself, I've had my fair share of music emerging from almost everywhere North Africa like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and the list goes on. I recently came across ABNABAK's EP "Under the Mask of Humanity", released in late 2013 and as a half-Aryan half-Lebanese, it was my duty to check it out and uncover how frostbitten and cold this release is.

The EP consists of only 4 songs totaling up to 18 minutes inspired by artists ranging from BURZUM's atmospheric style to XASTHUR's suicidal ambient style of Black Metal. The entire "Under The Mask Of Humanity" EP could be categorized as a Depressive Suicidal Black Metal release, but sadly like most, it will only appeal to those who dwell in their basement cursing humanity for not including a healthier choice of foods in the school's cafeteria. The compositions are bland and much uninspired with only decent riffs here and there over very processed and bland vocals.

Nothing remains to be said here, if you enjoy watered down replicas of HYPOTHERMIA and XASTHUR or you're a collector of DSBM releases, do not hesitate in acquiring "Under the Mask of Humanity". Otherwise, please check something else.