मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान

Some bands are just good, others have a special aura. Cult of Fire fall under the second category. Their form of black metal has ingredients of the Far East and this gives the music an occult character. “Ascetic Meditation of Death” does not open the next chapter. In terms of style, it is well aligned with the fantastic debut. Mantra-like sections and unleashed outbreaks shape an album that does not lack musicality, technical competence and harshness. Cult of Fire’s music is demanding and far away from fast food black metal. The songs do not follow conventional patterns, but they are always competently arranged. In their best moments, they offer an enormous depth which wants to be discovered under many layers of wildly raging guitar leads and expressive harmonies. The keyboards deliver some horror movie elements, but do not think of cheap effects. The Czech troop has a knack for spiritual sounds and so the dudes create music with certain sustainability.

Doubtlessly, this is not the heaviest black metal album of all times. The band allows itself to present a couple of slow, more or less solemn melodies. But the diabolic voice of the lead vocalist alone guarantees a more than sufficient malignancy, at least if we forget the two instrumentals momentarily. Spiced up with a proper portion of technical support, he sounds like a merciless God – voluminous, echoing and sardonic. But don’t get me wrong, the instrumental parts are mostly based on a profound heaviness as well. From time to time, the compositions fall victim to an overly ritualistic approach, but mainly they focus on the flow of the respective song. However, the song-writing does not always hit the bull’s eye and that’s a pity in view of the outstanding abilities of the formation. The closer, for instance, starts promising, but turns out into a pretty meaningless piece with a shallow melody. The intro of the opener, to give another example, builds up tension, but the song itself is not that enthralling.

Not least because of the involvement of two members of Cult of Fire in Death Karma, this equally mystic horde comes to my mind when thinking of comparable bands. Malokarpatan is also not too far away… there must be a special gas or flavour in the Czechoslovakian air. So one thing should be clear, this is no average kind of metal. The artists do not deal with death as the ultimate pain or horror. Instead, the aura of the music gives the audience the feeling that death is nothing but an integral element of an enlightened yet tradition-loving society. Either way, I don’t intend to over-emphasize academic aspects. “Ascetic Meditation of Death” is a good album which profits from a warm and mighty production and it reaches a remarkable degree of fury every now and then (check out the third or fifth track, for example). On the other hand, the number of minor mistakes concerning the song-writing lowers its musical strength. After seven years without a new full-length, it could be time to show us that they can do a better job. 2020 has just begun.

In spite of the lurid artwork on the CD front cover and inside the booklet, and the English translation of the title as the rather alarming "Ascetic Meditation of Death", this album, the second for Czech black metallers Cult of Fire, is actually a straightforward melodic black metal recording straddling the divide between the alternative mainstream side of metal and the underground. True, the album starts off with some sonorous Tibetan Buddhist monastic vocal droning and a parade of sitar and sitar-like guitar riffing and the last track picks up the Indian musical theme again but the bulk of the music is solid epic melodic BM songs. In fact, in the first track there's a solo guitar playing a riff that I think I've heard on some other black metal album in the distant past.

The album pays homage to the Hindu goddess Kali who represents an aspect of the primordial earth goddess as the bringer of change and destruction. I'll assume for this review that Cult of Fire know the Hindu religion very well and aren't just simply presenting a sensationalised view of Kali as a bloodthirsty and violent death goddess. The intent should be to reveal beneath the cloak of darkness and death what the goddess truly represents: the potential for transformation, sloughing off old forms and structures and destroying them to make way for rebirth, and the empowerment that this transformation offers the soul. As black metal itself is a genre that frequently visits the idea of transformation, even if in negative ways, the music is an ideal vehicle to explore the nature of Kali.

Apart from the opening and closing tracks and one instrumental piece, the music features no Indian instrumentation or musical structures: it starts off fast and aggressive, and in each song listeners will hear a dizzying package of melodies and rhythms all switching back and forth, and a mix of speeds and moods. One constant is the solidity and sharpness of the music: though the guitars can be shrill and fast, the sound is never thin. The CoF guys aren't afraid to include a Hammond organ on some tracks but fortunately the potential cartoon cheese factor that Hammond organs bring with them isn't very prominent. The vocals are very savage and almost slaveringly inhuman: they may be the best element in the music at this point, even when I take the raw guitars and the drumming into account. The musicians go for broke on most tracks with deranged playing with screeching and roaring in the background, yet their playing is very precise, riffs are very clear and chainsaw sharp, and most songs have plenty of dark space behind the instruments.

As the album progresses, the music starts to slow down and at this point starts to feel repetitive. Tracks 5 and 6 seem as if we've heard them earlier in the album and on track 6 a bit of cartoony Temple-of-Doom ambience crashes in with a gong bash. The musicians try to go for something a bit psychedelic and extreme, and up to a point the crazed eccentricity succeeds but the song can't quite shake off a certain cartoony quality. The singing is bombastic and shouty which doesn't help. It gets worse on track 7 where the singing is so exaggerated in its bombast that I feel quite embarrassed listening to the whole song. There are moments there where the music goes round and round in circles and sounds uninspired.

I'd have liked this album to be truly awe-inspiring, savage in attack and menacing in mood; instead a lot of fat accumulates after the first half of the recording is done and the energy and aggression falter in parts. At this point the sillier aspects of CoF's style come to the fore: the singing becomes buffoonish while the earlier abrasive guitars become smoother and quite tame. It's ironic that the band runs out of puff on the second part of the album because this is the bit where the true nature of Kali as the guide to change, destruction and transformation should have been revealed and the goddess becomes a benevolent force. The playing is still good but the spirit that inspired the first half of the album and powered it has gone AWOL.

At its heart, Cult of Fire’s “Ascetic Meditation of Death” is a normal black metal album and no amount of Hindi language, sitars, or chanting to Kali change that here. With that in mind, the album is still solid. The band doesn’t need anything special or unique to make good music, yet they manage to thoroughly incorporate some unorthodox sounds into the album. This isn’t like how garbage food marketed to children will often be the same thing as adult garbage food, but shaped like a tiger riding a surfboard or have a different color just for novelty’s sake. While having a fair amount of Hindu influence in their atmospheric styled black metal probably makes the band more marketable, Cult of Fire does more than just add a childish sprinkling of these influences. These elements are enjoyable and well blended, yet the band’s songwriting is still the true engine and that engine is black metal. “Ascetic Meditation of Death” likely could have just as easily had Cajun or Ainu influences if the band put their efforts in another direction. This is in contrast to bands like Melechesh or Negură Bunget, whose differentness and instrumental decisions are an integral part of their music. Cult of Fire’s strength comes primarily from a sense of atmosphere that doesn’t require overindulging in repetition. Naturally, their major weakness on this album is the tendency to stray from that strength and make lazy jam-band styled songs.    

Vocals here are similar to what you might hear from Agalloch, but with a harder driving edge and a more than ample varnish of reverb. This isn’t entirely surprising, given the blurry intersections between post and atmospheric flavors of black metal. Cult of Fire does a good job straddling those influences. On the post side: the seventh track has crystalline high soaring melodies, the eighth track could be some kind of “inspirational” new-age mediation song (not a compliment), and the fourth’s mood is nothing short of a contemptibly triumphant Hindu themed black metal sports montage. Despite all of this, the band never completely looses that sense of black metal grandeur for too long, where many similar bands devolve into limp-wristed post-rock. Yes, the tonal quality is warm, especially with the rounded off bouncy bass and flamboyant organ, yet the mood remains stern for much of the album. This happens because of the band’s overall sense of direction can include upbeat detours and rich flourishes that keep things interesting but without jeopardizing the guitar’s ample melody. Throwing the driving vocals on top of that melody gives the band a real sense of power and everything else is almost ornamental. The band’s approach is highly melodic, which is especially obvious with glissandi like the organ intro to track 2, the high guitar flourish on track 3, and even in track 4’s cheesy piano interlude. What also helps this style breath is how the drummer is smart enough to know when not to blast.

The downside, to be blunt, tracks 4, 7, and 8. Lazy. Each one suffers from an overuse of repetition. At first glance it might appear from the chant-heavy fourth track and the sitar laden final track that the band is shoehorning Hindu influences into their music and would be better off without them. This is not the case, as the band incorporates these ideas better elsewhere and track 7 has none of these influences but showcases the same problem. Cult of Fire is faltering in terms of song structure, and while the band maintains their pleasant sound throughout the album you can’t hide several minutes of trite chord progressions no matter how they are dressed up, if at all. With the last two tracks being problematic this way, it certainly gives off the impression that the band simple ran out of ideas and padded the album. To reiterate, these tracks don’t mar the album’s overall mood, but taken alone each one sucks. This might mean that they would have worked better with more dynamic material to provide context, track 4’s repetition could be generously viewed as a nice change-up if it were the only one of its kind. Instead the band is excessive with the happier breaks from their music. Even something like the fire sounds on track 2 works as a nice break even while other parts of the album feel forced (it says a lot when a band with the word fire in their name isn’t being awful while also using a sound recording of fire.)

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the band’s use of Hindu influences is some kind of revolutionary approach to metal, it isn’t. To repeat, Cult of Fire is a black metal band at heart; and continuing with the organ analogy their particular approach on this album is more like a gallbladder. It is useful, but you can be fine without it, yet no one wants to cut it out unless it becomes a problem. There are no gallstones here. What is more important than the gallbladder though is that Cult of Fire’s body as a whole is strong, if a bit overly fat due to fits of sedentary songwriting.

Originally written for Contaminated Tones.

Metal’s infatuation with the arcane realm of theology is nothing particularly new, having more than dabbled with the occult and its different varieties since its very inception with Black Sabbath’s seminal debut; a subtle, albeit simplistic and almost amateurish take on the topic. Czech Republic has in particular given rise to some very off-beat bands, and the most obvious suspects that come to mind in terms of this specific segment of extreme metal are the seminal acts Master’s Hammer and Root, who played an experimental brand of (proto) black metal laden with tendencies slipping into traditional metal territory.

Cult of Fire made a considerable impact with their debut ‘Triumvirat’, marking them as one among the many promising forces from the country, but their latest, 'मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान' (Mrityu Ka Tapsi Anudhyan), is a step in a different direction from ‘Triumvirat’ and is arguably their breakthrough album. The title, which translates into ‘Ascetic Meditation of Death’ reflects on this thematic shift, having originally been a conventional black metal outfit with leanings towards the occult and Satanism. This sophomore marks a shift towards a wholehearted exaltation to the theology of the Indian subcontinent, specifically that aspect surrounding death, as the album art reinforces with its depiction of the Hindu goddess Kali, portrayed in a manner that projects a certain transcendence among the cosmos while still maintaining the Goddess’ traditional fierceness. Thus, the occult-driven themes here are far from contrived or cliched, and quite unique in a sense, as one rarely comes across a band with themes surrounding death worship in a specifically Hindu context. Track names such as ‘मृत्यु ही सत्य है’, which translates into ‘Only Death is Real’, attests to that.

The album, much like its themes is not wholly sonically straightforward, but an immensely gratifying experience in terms of the manner in which it combines the inherent esotericism with the story-telling abilities of the melodies and atmospheres being conjured. Taking small cues from the likes of Gehenna and Dissection but also from more wholeheartedly atmospheric bands such as Drudkh and Summoning, Cult of Fire primarily paints atmospheres by means of texturing its melodicity-laden guitar riffs around strobing patterns, which evolve under linearly executed percussion; while the more eclectic elements that the band uses increases the meditative atmosphere it seeks to invoke. These elements also seemingly help to usher in a metamorphosis of sorts, coalescing and deconstructing different song-writing ideas of the same time. Melodies are always in a motion of sorts, shifting between sonorous and more effervescent moods to darker, bleaker moods. The guitars as a whole have a lustrous quality to them, although more atmospheric relative to say, the pulsating melodicity and virulence of black metal bands with blatantly melodic leanings.

The nature of the tracks is fairly diverse, with the band juxtaposing more atmospheric song-writing ideas with a blasting, more aggressive indulgence, effectively painting an abstraction that describes the very essence of the Goddess Kali – a force of empowerment, strength and redemption while being a fierce and destructive figure on face-value. The band fantastically balances compositions with more upbeat and masterfully rhythmic leanings, which is where the harsh vocal pillage truly shines through; and more ruminant ambiances. While the thematic leanings of the band, including their usage of Devanagri script and eastern instruments such as the Sitar, might seem overwhelming to the average listener, the album is in its essence a black metal album par excellence. It is unlikely to appeal to black metal aficionados who like their black metal devoid of any diverse and eclectic elements, as is used here; such as the ambiance-inducing usage of the sitars, or the seemingly incongruent yet reflective keyboard work on tracks like ‘काली मां’, or the organs and chime usage, the chanted mantras or even some of the more abstract sound samples such as the burning of pyres.

What is fantastic about the flow of the album is that both the introductory and closing tracks put the listener in a reverie of sorts, marking a full circle in this aural journey that is suspenseful, emotive and entrancing in its architecturing; as well as the fact that the band frequently places upbeat and dynamic tracks before or after more pensive indulgences in line with the spiritual themes of the album. The drumming is very thoughtfully executed, being the conventional blasting indulgence in the more syncopation-driven passages, while alternating between a marching and relaxed pace in the aerial and eremitic segments. The production too is very rich, and balances out the instruments to work in congruence with each other, successfully ushering in the atmospheres that one seeks out in this type of music. These elegiac patterns and their respective changes and shifts in turn make for very dark, but surrealistic and eloquent experiences. In essence, Cult of Fire has with this album made for an almost spiritual experience with this sonic austere of a monolithic album. Enough talk, this album is an essential listen, and is a beautiful experience in itself that needs to be absorbed as a whole.

Originally written for - MetalWani.com

A divine mother to the enlightened and a ferocious killer to those fearful of death, the Hindu goddess Kali is a figure of reverence and terror alike - a being that is by all accounts complex, mystical and arcane. What better genre to pay tribute to the Divine Mother than the fearsome majesty and ritual violence of black metal? Cult of Fire (who are actually from the Czech Republic) move away from done-to-death “orthodox” Satanism obnoxiousness on their second record “मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान” (that’s Hindi for “Ascetic Meditation of Death”) in favor of a focus on Hindi mythology, creating an album that is entirely dedicated to this most fearsome of Hindi goddesses.


One would think that the heady subject matter would call for a black metal sound akin to such arcane artisans of dissonance Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord, but Cult of Fire surprisingly make very few tweaks to the black metal style. The record is introduced with “संहार रक्त काली”, which lures the listener in with a sinister-sounding sitar before careening into a familiar sounding blitzkrieg of blastbeats, repetitive tremolo riffing and hoarse snarls. It’s generic and predictable at first glance, but further listens reveal a band that is comfortable and more than adept within the genre constraints they confine themselves within.


Cult of Fire play a black metal that’s savage and melodic in equal measures, but perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the record as a whole is how listenable it is. Tracks like“काली मां” (track 4) and “खण्ड मण्ड योग” (track 7) toss out pseudo-Wagnerian synth choir cheesiness for a shimmering Hammond organ that has no business working as well as it does while the band rages over it all with bafflingly uplifting - yet muscular - guitar riffing. The aforementioned 4th track overflows with grandiosity and triumphant melodicism that’s almost comforting to listen to, and “मृत्यु ही सत्य है” (track 5) propels itself into battle with riffing that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Windir album before that Hammond organ strikes again and brings the song to a cheery climax. Last track “दिव्य प्रेम की ज्वाला से दग्ध” even eschews the metal entirely towards the end in favor of a 3 minute sitar respite, ending the record on a comforting, meditative note.


"Ascetic Meditation…" is hardly the most innovative or challenging black metal record to explore esoteric religious themes, but with the amount of craft and vigor that Cult of Fire offer in its stead, I’m compelled not to care one bit. By all accounts, Cult of Fire’s only objective is to give thanks and praises to the Divine Mother Kali that only the firebrand energy of black metal in its classic form can achieve. It is undeniably formulaic, but the record is more of a celebration of the genre conventions of black metal than it is a fallback out of a lack of anything new to offer. Cult of Fire are confident and comfortable in their own skin, and clearly could give a damn whether or not they’re perceived as generic or predictable in an over-saturated metal environment - and what could be more uniquely black metal than that?

(originally posted on www.angrymetalguy.com)

Black metal has been to some strange, adventurous places since its inception, and especially over the past decade. The orthodoxies of old still exist, but it seems that more and more bands are willing and capable of looking beyond the boundaries laid down during the 90s, and take in all manner of influences and to chart new sonic territories whilst still remaining undeniably black metal. मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान is a prime example of such a record. Opening track संहार रक्त काली (translated: Samhara Rakta Kali) begins with what sounds like droning sitar and some deep, ominous “om”-style chanting. It takes almost a minute for any guitars to come in, and the end of the introduction is marked by a gong crash. Even amongst the following blast beats and furious tremolo picking, though, there are still sounds and instruments that are – to these ears – exotic. Needless to say, if you are unshakeably kvlt and trve in your approach to black metal, then this record is unlikely to appeal. But to more open-minded listeners who can listen to something using non-metal instruments without screaming “fake!” or “gimmick!”, a stunning journey awaits.

In terms of the core black metal components – and it is the core of Cult Of Fire’s sound, make no mistake – there is nothing too unusual here. Their sound is built on the foundations laid down by bands such as Dissection, Watain, and the more straight-forward works of Blut Aus Nord – so, melodic black metal. But whereas other bands playing that style of black metal might compliment their sound with keyboards, Cult Of Fire make use of instruments such as sitars and chimes. When keys do pop up, they’re not the stereotypical choir or “haunting” sounds that so many other bands use. Instead, it’s more of a classic rock organ sound, much like Sigh have made use of. It’s mostly subtle, taking a back-seat to the more traditional instruments, but it helps add that extra bit of something special to the songs. All of these unusual additions are done with a taste and sensibility that indicates that a lot of time and thought has gone in to the construction of these songs, and ensures that they do not overwhelm or bog down the songs. There are too many examples to list them all, but fifth track मृत्यु ही सत्य है (translated: Only Death Is Real) is perhaps the best example, with the organ really adding that extra bit of punch, especially just before the third minute mark. The result – when combined with some stunning guitars – is absolutely incredible, and one of the best black metal moments of the year.

Which leads nicely on to another point: the guitar leads. The trouble with many metal bands of all styles is that their melodies can often seem uninspired and predictable, but that is absolutely not the case here. They are never less than inspired, and countless other bands could learn something from listening to them. The vocals are powerful and commanding, and the drums hammer away as furiously as you would hope, with some great fills at points amongst the blasting mayhem.

Likewise, the pacing and dynamics of the album are worthy of note. Though it mainly speeds along with fury and determination, there are enough mid-tempo sections and moments of relative calm to stop it being too overwhelming, such as fourth track काली मां (translated: Kali Ma), a more mid-tempo piece where the only vocals are spiritual chants, and some incredible piano playing steals the show. It serves to highlight just how broad the vision of this band is, and demonstrates a skill for taking all sorts of diverse, unusual elements and turning them to the service of black metal and their songs. Final track दिव्य प्रेम की ज्वाला से दग्ध (translated: Burned by the Flame of Divine Love) is built upon a foundation of sitars that compliment the more traditional instruments perfectly, and it ends up being utterly transcendent, and almost blissful. These are not terms usually associated with black metal, yet somehow, it all works perfectly.

The production is worthy of praise, too; everything is balanced nicely, with a rich, full sound. With so much going on, these songs could have easily collapsed under their own weight and become a mess, but the opposite is true. The album artwork is also worthy of praise; it is an absolutely stunning image of the Hindu goddess Kali, and perhaps as good a representation of the album as anything. It’s not too far removed from the traditional images of Satan that adorn so many records, yet is still different from what might be expected.

This is a stunning album, at times challenging the concepts of what is possible within the paradigm of black metal, yet that it belongs to the genre cannot be denied. The addition of instruments and sounds – as well as imagery – from India and the Hindu faith is no mere novelty, and all add to the sound and identity of the band. It’s also a real grower of a record – each listen reveals something new. A late contender for black metal release of the year.

Originally written for http://thesoundnottheword.wordpress.com/