“PAYAN” – New Samavayo album (release 25/03/2022)

„Pāyān”. The end. Persian.
SAMAVAYO deals a lot with “the end” in terms of content on their new album. The end of the bad, of the good, the end of humanity, end of the way we treat our planet. It’s about the destruction of our planet, division, racism, greed, exploitation, war, isolation, loneliness. But every end means at the same time a beginning, a new start and beginning. “Payan” – the seventh album of SAMAVAYO in the 22nd year of its existence is fresh and full of energy and power!

“Our sound has never been so clear from the ground up as it is on this album. We definitely can say that after 22 years we have finally found our sound.”

Musically, the record is different from its predecessors: more heavy, more prog, lots of anger and a pinch of punk, Alice In Chains vocals, and last but not least some unusual guitar soli are added by a illustrious bunch of guests who visited the studio: Igor Sydorenko (Stoned Jesus), Tommi Holappa (Greenleaf, Dozer), Nick DiSalvo (Elder) and Willi Paschen (Coogans Bluff) didn’t take long to contribute.

Without too much “world music” sounds, the trio has continued to incorporate oriental sounds, including two songs with Persian vocals again. The title track, as well as the cover version “Talagh” by Iranian pop superstar Googoosh have become extremely gritty versions that rhythmically would also suit Tool well.

“Shot Shot Shot” is, as the song title says, straight in the face. A hard uptempo number that leaves no questions unanswered.

Pic by Danny Kötter

“Transcend! Exceed!” comes ingratiating, melodic, riff-heavy and compact. One album. Seven songs. No failure. Extensive arrangements, a grandiose production by Richard Behrens (Kadavar, Silvershark, among others). More versatile than ever, uncompromising and hard-hitting.

But also otherwise the band looks beyond the horizon and has ideals and goals that definitely show that you have grown not only musically. “As a musician, you often travel long distances to concerts. That’s why we decided to compensate our CO2- emissions by investing in sustainable projects. Our website server runs on “green electricity”, we produce fair trade shirts and we look to use as little plastic or recycled material as possible in the production of the records.”

An extraordinary album and a special band that has not stopped for more than two decades and always has new goals. More than remarkable and no end seems in sight.