| Reviews for Rudra's Brahmavidya: Transcendental I |
| Superior Vedic metal - 90% |
| Written by autothrall
on November 18th, 2009
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| The massive expansion of metal culture through new and unexpected territories has created a wealth of foreign and 'ethnic' black and death metal, but very few bands are able to truly conjure their ancestral cultures into the framework of modern brutality. This is not the case for Singapore's Rudra, who have been doing it well for years. Brahmavidya: Transcendental I is the band's 5th full length, and to this point, hands down the greatest statement of Vedic metal I have heard. The strength is that the band does not try and clout you over the head with a mix of folk pieces and then boring metal. The majority of the material here is very much blackened death, but through the composition of the brutal, blasting rhythms and breakdowns you are transported into the mythistory of their people, the darkness and tragedy, madness and glory. There are a few meditative pieces in which the basic sounds are repeated beneath varied vocal mantras and instrumentation ("Bhagavatpada Namaskara", "Immortality Roars", "Adiguru Namastubhyam"), and the very lavish "Meditations at Dawn", but the rest is metal up your ass. Tracks like "Ravens Paradise", "Hymns from the Blazing Chariot" and "Venerable Opposites" are astonishing and epic, carefully weaving folk melodies and punishing riffs into unforgettable vistas of the brutal and beautiful past. But if you simply want your head slammed with a vice, "Not the Seen but the Seer" and "Natural Born Ignorance" will suit you well. Though all the instruments are distinct and clear, there is a captivating, grim edge to the guitars and crashing drums that really stands out. This is no poppy, overproduced metal record. It is feral and savage, most of the rhythms feel as if they are screaming at you straight from the jungles and mountains of Southeast Asia. This has ever been a band to follow, because noone else plays in quite this way (the other great Singapore band, Impiety is more of a brutal, straightforward Satanic style of black/death). Like other quality ethnic metal bands (Melechesh, etc), Rudra really 'get it', and they have a lot to offer with Brahmavidya: Transcendental I. The album isn't perfect (1-2 of the tracks were mildly less interesting than the remainder), but it's the closest they've yet come. -autothrall http://www.fromthedustreturned.com |
| Avoiding the Inevitable Comparisons - 90% |
| Written by kapitankraut
on November 4th, 2009
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| Rudra's "Brahmavidya: Transcendental I" is the kind of album it's impossible to listen to without thinking of other more well-known releases. The combination of metal with oriental sounds isn't exactly new, after all, and my two easiest points of reference are Melechesh (whose drug of choice is Middle Eastern folk sounds) and the more ambient sections of Nile albums (again, Middle Eastern-inspired). I've also heard mention of Behemoth, but since Nergal's attitude towards anything oriental is to make vague references to it in the lyrics while having far too much noise for anything to be audible, we can ignore those comparisons for the moment. Lest Rudra be dismissed as Melechesh/Nile clones, I hasten to add that these young men combine their metal with Indian sounds, and the kinds of things normally described as "Indian Classical", rather than the folk music of that country. Several tracks here start or finish with Vedic chanting in Sanskrit - indeed "Meditations at Dawn" consists entirely of just that along with some very skilled tabla playing - while the vocals are roughly equally split between English and Sanskrit again. I haven't been able to track down any lyrics, let alone translations, but what little of Kathi's English rasping I can decipher suggests that the album is focused on the gory bits of Hindu mythology. Indeed, it's not just a case of tacking the Indian music onto metal, as many folk-metal acts from around the world do. Rudra even play their guitars in that distinctively Indian-sitar-sounding way. Not being a guitarist, I can't elaborate on that comment any further, except to say that it'll make sense when you hear the album. This is definitely not an album that will immediately make sense to the casual listener. It's taken me a couple of listens - as well as the comparisons outlined above - to really get into it. On first listen, this is quite possibly going to sound like an undiluted mess of blackened death metal, as the guitars, bass and drums spend most of the album zooming along at top speed. Repeated listens, though, will reveal unusual melodies and even the odd solo, as well as some very crisp drumming hidden in among all the blasting. That being said, I haven't yet reached the point where I can point to a standout track or two. It seems as though this may be part of a conceptual series, so in that case perhaps it's pointless to try viewing the album as a series of individual compositions anyway. One of the strangest aspects of the entire album for me is that the band hails from Singapore. Having visited the country a couple of times, I honestly would have never suspected that beneath this highly conformist society (at least, it appears that way to the observer) could lurk such an impressive band. Clearly, there's more to the city-state than meets the eye. All in all, a very impressive album. Perhaps not one which will receive the attention it deserves for any number of reasons, but one which the discerning fan should definitely seek out |
| Rudra's Destructive Masterpiece! - 95% |
| Written by indianmetalhead
on July 26th, 2009
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| Rudra's Brahmavidhya Transcendental is the fifth studio album from the Singapore death/thrash metallers who like to label themselves as Vedic Metal. This effort from them pushes in continuing the tradition of chanting Vedic mythology based songs but that is the only constant they carry over from the past four albums and which is definitely a good thing. What has not been constant is the technicality and production of the music which has grown many folds compared to their last effort. This release by Rudra accomplishes them as a metal band which should be reckoned with in the metal world. This album reflects the maturity of the band and how they have come of age to produce consistently good metal music defining new rules of fusing the east and the west. The aspects that really stand out are the drumming and the bass. The production on both of them is one of the best I have heard you will hear from the band. It makes up for the raw production and the amateur snare sound that they had it on the previous album. Also the bass sound is just not over shadowing the guitar sounds like it was in the previous effort and engulfing with it the sounds of some good riff age. This time it complements the guitars beautifully while holding its own and manages to be audible. The music is along the lines of Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Carcass, Nile, and Vital Remains. Curious metalheads only have to try the intro "Bhagavadpada Namaskara" or the more visceral "Avidya Nivrtti" for proof of the band's uniqueness. But Rudra though being different in such aspects is still an extreme metal band because they know their metal and prove it on the album's first song, "Ravens of Paradise." It's melodic, cacophonous, evil sounding, and complex, a treat for every connoisseur whose musical tastes range from the brutal to the grandiose. The album is full of epic guitar solos, twisted growls, virtuoso musicianship, and contemplative interludes that guarantee there's something for everybody inside this concept-driven masterpiece. Recommended tracks: Ravens of Paradise, Amrtasyaputra, Natural Born Ignorance, Immortality roars, Venerable Opposites. |