After the Noise Settles: A Clear-Eyed Review of Brymo’s SHAITAN

A week after the first reactions, playlist arguments, and surface-level takes faded, Brymo’s SHAITAN begins to reveal its true shape. This is not music designed to win the first listen or dominate timelines. It is music that insists on time — to sit, to absorb, and, in some cases, to resist.

Released as two distinct but connected projects — Àródan and Telekinesis — SHAITAN feels less like a conventional album drop and more like a deliberate pause in Brymo’s career. One rooted in ancestry and language, the other abstract and inward, both records refuse immediacy. They ask the listener to slow down, and in doing so, expose both Brymo’s sharpest instincts and his most persistent blind spots.

SHAITAN is among Brymo’s most intellectually ambitious releases — culturally grounded, philosophically dense, and uncompromising — but its resistance to accessibility sometimes limits its emotional and sonic payoff.

Production & Sound: Intentional Restraint, Uneven Payoff

Across both halves of SHAITAN, production is stripped down to the bone. This is not minimalism as aesthetic trend; it is minimalism as ideology. Beats are sparse, tempos restrained, and arrangements intentionally avoid flourish. Brymo is not interested in atmosphere for atmosphere’s sake — the sound exists to carry ideas, not distract from them.

On SHAITAN: Àródan, the sonic choices feel grounded and ritualistic. Percussion patterns echo traditional structures, melodies circle rather than resolve, and the music often feels like a vessel for language. Yoruba is not decoration here; it is rhythm, weight, and intent. The production knows when to step back, allowing the words to lead.

SHAITAN: Telekinesis moves in the opposite direction. Cold, skeletal, and abstract, its soundscape feels deliberately unfinished — as though completion itself would dilute the message. Tracks like Mother and God and All Things Return to Source hover in emotional suspension, built more around thought than feeling.

With repeated listens, this restraint clarifies its purpose — but it also exposes a limitation. Especially on Telekinesis, the sonic palette is so narrow that songs begin to blur. The intention is focus; the risk is fatigue.

Lyrics & Themes: Philosophy Over Comfort

Lyrically, SHAITAN is Brymo operating at full intellectual capacity. These albums interrogate identity, power, ancestry, ego, faith, and consequence with little concern for easy interpretation. The writing is symbolic, layered, and unapologetically dense.

Àródan leans heavily into Yoruba cosmology and cultural memory. Songs like Òkìkí and Ìyá Àwẹ̀lé read more like oral literature than contemporary songwriting — reflective, deliberate, and steeped in heritage. The choice to privilege indigenous language here is not just aesthetic; it is political, cultural, and archival.

Telekinesis turns inward. Its themes are universal but stark — isolation, spiritual exhaustion, and self-interrogation dominate. Where Àródan speaks outward, Telekinesis feels like a private journal. The absence of melodic release mirrors the emotional distance Brymo seems intent on maintaining.

With time, this lyrical approach becomes clearer — and more divisive. Brymo consistently chooses meaning over melody, concept over comfort. For listeners willing to engage deeply, the reward is substance. For those seeking emotional immediacy, the albums can feel withholding.

Brymo isn’t chasing understanding — he’s documenting thought.

Standout Tracks, Lulls, and the Cost of Cohesion

On Àródan, Òkìkí emerges as the album’s emotional anchor. Its structure, language, and pacing strike the most effective balance between intention and engagement. The title track Àródan, featuring Miraj, offers a rare moment of warmth — a brief opening where melody and message meet halfway.

On Telekinesis, Mother and God stands out for its thematic clarity, while All Things Return to Source best encapsulates the album’s central philosophy. These tracks benefit from their restraint — but only because the ideas are sharp enough to sustain it.

Where both albums struggle is momentum. Despite their short runtimes, neither project offers many peaks or dynamic shifts. Over time, this makes the listening experience feel heavier than it is long. Miss a line, and you miss the song. There is little forgiveness built into the structure.

Brymo SHAITAN Album Review: Context, Career, and Audience Reception

“This Brymo SHAITAN album review arrives best after the noise settles, when the albums can be judged for what they actually are — not what the moment demanded.”

Placed within Brymo’s broader catalogue, SHAITAN feels less like a reinvention and more like a consolidation. It builds on the experimental instincts of Theta and the darkness of Macabre, but strips away any remaining concern for accessibility or broad appeal.

In the days following release, Àródan emerged as the more embraced half of the project, reportedly charting within Nigeria’s Apple Music Top Albums. Social discourse leaned toward its cultural grounding and linguistic confidence, while Telekinesis was framed as the more challenging, divisive counterpart.

That split now feels intentional. With time, it’s clear SHAITAN was never meant to be consumed uniformly. Brymo is not seeking consensus — he is documenting a moment in his artistic and psychological evolution, and allowing the audience to meet him where they can.

Ratings & Final Verdict

SHAITAN: Àródan

★★★★☆ (4.0 / 5)Score: 82 / 100

A culturally rich and grounded project that rewards patience, even when it resists replay.

SHAITAN: Telekinesis

★★★☆☆ (3.5 / 5)Score: 75 / 100

Intellectually sharp but emotionally distant, its minimalism occasionally works against it.

SHAITAN — Combined Verdict

★★★★☆ (4.0 / 5)Score: 80 / 100

These ratings reflect where the albums land after time, not the excitement of release day.

Together, Àródan and Telekinesis reaffirm Brymo as one of Nigeria’s most uncompromising thinkers in music — even when that commitment costs him warmth, ease, and mass appeal.

Chief Editor’s Pull Quotes

• “These albums aren’t designed for playlists — they’re designed for reflection.”

• “Brymo chooses meaning over melody, even when it costs momentum.”

• “SHAITAN demands time, and it isn’t apologetic about it.”

Key Takeaways

• Àródan is the more culturally anchored and accessible half of SHAITAN.

• Telekinesis prioritizes abstraction and internal dialogue over engagement.

• Production restraint is intentional but occasionally limiting.

• Lyrical depth is a strength; emotional generosity is not always present.

• SHAITAN favors artistic integrity over commercial instinct.

If SHAITAN left you conflicted, curious, or quietly unsettled, you’re not alone. We spend time sitting with music that refuses easy answers — and writing honestly about what reveals itself after the hype fades. Join that conversation here.