Time and time again Fortune shows itself to be a fickle and harsh mistress, but also a very sarcastic one. When we contacted the incredible Lowen a few weeks ago for permission to upload their amazing new single, “Najang Bah Divhayeh Mazandaran“, we never expected that the day of the upload would be precisely the same day a helicopter accident killed some of Iran’s most important politicians, including president Ebrahim Raisi – a hardline conservative who was one of the masterminds behind events such as the brutal repression against the recent “Women, Life, Freedom” protests or the 1988 mass political executions which killed thousands of oppositionists, mostly leftist revolutionaries who were against the violently dictatorial turn of the Khomeini regime.
Everything fits: Lowen, who is in the UK but has in their ranks ethnic Iranians, not only openly supported the Mahsa Amini protests, but wrote this song, in their own words, about “one of the many fables of the Shahnameh, the Persian book of Kings, concern[ing] the folly of rulers who jealously extend their empires despite the warnings of their own people” – in it, ancient king Kay Kāvus, greedy and impulsive, tries to conquer Mazandaran, a rich land inhabited by powerful Divs (akin to demons) despite no previous ruler attempting that, and suffers a humiliating defeat, being blinded and imprisoned along with two-thirds of his army.
All the historic significance of the song and today is shelled in a song so sublime it’s difficult to put in words… but “epic progressive folky doom” does begin to describe it, as does “Candlemass/Mezarkabul from Persia with uncommon time signatures and haunting grooves”, or any of a hundred other possible descriptions. It is seriously THAT impressive, and vocalist/lyricist Nina Saeidi plays a huge part in that with her delivery.
We are honoured to have them here and to celebrate the death of a tyrant on the same day. May the flames of insurrection arise again in Iran!
⚔️ LOWEN ⚔️
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