File under: Post-HC, Psychedelic, Oriental, Stoner, Doom

ZHAAT – originally just a fantasy word that was supposed to correspond to the music, without restriction and value-free, confusing, mystical. Only in retrospect did it turn out that the word comes from Arabic and means “essence” or is equated with “the innermost (core / soul / drive) of a being”. Coincidence? Fate? Curious in any case, especially as the band draws on oriental scales, sounds and images and likes to overcome rigid boundaries not only musically but also artistically in the direction of the Orient.

The quartet from Leipzig has been developing its own sound since 2018. Experimental post-HC is woven with heavy psychedelic stoner rock to create a tapestry of sound that is striking in its coloration. The occasional oriental melodies and rhythms create a mystically hypnotic mix that contrasts the heavy walls of guitars with a certain lightness.

But none of this has anything to do with stuffy, hippie “world music”; it is epic, powerful and full of contrasts. Floating psychedelic instrumental parts, powerfully aggressive vocals and then again tons of grooving and heavy as fuck. Post HC, alternative, stoner, math rock, doom, psychedelic? Soundscapes condense into atmospheric heights, oriental scales haunt you in an alchemical manner before the pure energy of the band tears the ground from under your feet.