Antique Drone and Doom conjurers Wyatt E. present the first single “Im Lelya” featuring Tomer Damsky and taken from their upcoming new album “zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1” due out on January 10, 2024 via Heavy Psych Sounds Records. Stream the track through the YouTube player below:
Says the band:
“Im Lelya is Wyatt E.’s second collaboration with Jerusalem singer Tomer Damsky, following Kol Badai in 2021.
This ancient Aramaic fable was said on the days of Belshazzar, the last Babylonian king, and it prophecies in monstrous allegories the fall of the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, and Greece to let the world be destroyed by the new kingdom of Rome.
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven, and four great beasts came up out of the sea”: so begins the apocalyptic Dream of the Four Beasts by the prophet Daniel.”
After two years in the making, Wyatt E. returns with their anticipated third album “zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1” (music from inside the Ziggurat), the first chapter of a two-album set in which the band deepens its exploration of ancient Babylon with an almost mythical approach through the eyes of the exiled captives from Jerusalem.
Pushing sonic boundaries further, it features two drummers recorded simultaneously, creating the immersive effect of distant crowds, and an eclectic array of instruments such as saz, viola, sitar and bugle, all blending smoothly within further analog and digital elements. Vocalists appear for the first time in the band’s history, as Iranian singer Nina Saiedi (Lowen) lends her ethereal voice to “The Diviner’s Prayer to the Gods of the Night” sung in Akkadian and Jerusalem’s choir conductor Tomer Damsky (Atonia) delivers a captivating performance of “Im Lelya” in Aramaic, adding deep vocal layers to the album. The album also features an excerpt from Turkish composer Fazil Say‘s “Mesopotamia” symphony.
“zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu” is poised to become one of the most ambitious projects in the doom scene, inviting you to join an exquisite cinematic journey to ancient faraway lands with your eyes closed and your senses fully awakened. It was mixed by by Tim De Gieter (Amenra, Brutus, Absent in Body) and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Botanist).
New album “zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1” out January 10th on Heavy Psych Sounds – Pre-Order // USA Pre-Order
In 2015, Wyatt E‘s debut EP “Mount Sinai/Aswan” caught the eye of Shalosh Cult, a Jerusalem-based label that released their critically acclaimed debut album “Exile to Beyn Neharot” in 2017. Their second full-length “āl bēlūti dārû” (“The Eternal City” in Akkadian language) marks the rise of Wyatt E. as a force to be reckoned within the Doom scene. Mixed by the godfather of Doom Billy Anderson (Sleep, Om, Melvins), this massive-sounding and otherworldly instrumental journey led them to a 95-concert tour across Europe and the Middle East. They played at notable events such as Roadburn, Mystic Festival, Desertfest, ArcTanGent, Duna Jam, Stoned From The Underground, Red Smoke Festival, A Colossal Weekend, Rock In Bourlon, Dour Festival, Fusion Festival, Stick & Stone, Astral Festival Bristol, Black Earth Festival and many more.
In 2023, Wyatt E. wrote for the motion picture soundtrack “Bowling Saturne” and released a Roadburn-commissioned collaborative collaboration with UK band Five The Hierophant and singer Tomer Damsky under the name Atonia. The band has now signed to European powerhouse Heavy Psych Sounds for the release of the narrative sequel to their revered 2022 album “āl bēlūti dārû” in the winter of 2025.