Arka'n Asrafokor is a Togolese heavy metal band from Lomé, formed in the mid-2010s by vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter Kodzo "Rock" Ahavi.
Some years after opening a studio to produce other artists in Togo's capital Lomé, Kodzo "Rock" Ahavi formed a project in 2009[4][5] or 2010[2][6] to recruit more musicians and perform live with both original material and cover versions of AC/DC, Metallica and Scorpions,[6] bands which attracted him to heavy metal music alongside Deep Purple.
[6] In 2012[2][8][9] or 2013,[4][9] a band was established with the name Arka'n[8] and part of its current line-up,[6] while Kodzo's younger brother Elom "Enrico" Ahavi formed a rap metal group called H Weapons.
[7] Given Togo's lack of tradition within the heavy metal scene, the band has to do almost everything themselves since there are no professionals with expertise in the genre to produce them or set their live gear in their homeland.
[20] The band's sound is described as a mixture of nu, thrash, groove and death metal, with elements of funk, rap, reggae, psychedelic rock, Togolese folk music and African percussion,[1][3][4][6][7][8][10][12][14][18][21] drawing comparisons with Soulfly, The Hu, Sepultura, Alien Weaponry, Pantera, Ill Niño, Laberinto, Dub War and Slipknot.
[3] Arka'n Asrafokor's lyrics are in English, French and Ewe and cover themes such as justice, peace, love, spirituality and environmental concerns;[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][11][13][18] the latter topic makes them see themselves as performing a type of "conscious metal" inspired by Sepultura and Gojira.
[7] The band's main songwriter Kodzo "Rock" Ahavi lists Metallica, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Korn, Cannibal Corpse, Creed, Lacuna Coil, Mudvayne, Pantera, Van Halen, AC/DC, Scorpions and Jimi Hendrix as influences.