There has never been a more perfect marriage between Extreme Metal and Asian culture since Rudra began churning out albums steeped in Vedic texts a decade ago. By conveying their non-dualist philosophy against a chaotic blend of Black, Death, and Thrash Metal (included in the mix are singer Kathir’s beastly vocals), Rudra have carved a niche in a genre where innovation is often frowned upon. For this year’s ‘Transcendental I’, the sequel to 2005’s ‘Primordial I’, the Singaporean quartet breathe arcane life into dialogues with gods, ruminations on existence, and ancient lore through 14 tracks of pure, uncompromising extreme metal.
But rather than go straight for the throat in its first minutes of audio, soothing chants and oriental sounds introduce ‘Bhagavadpada Namaskara’ before the relentless ‘Ravens of Paradise’ unleashes the band’s patented sound. The heavy stuff intensifies for ‘Amrtasyaputra’, where Rudra cook up a storm of furious drums and even more abrasive guitars, then fall silent in the unassuming intro to ‘Hymns From The Blazing Chariot’ and the chant-ridden interlude that follows, ‘Meditations At Dawn’. While the listener may be dumbfounded by the band’s exotic song titles, he (or she) will not forever remain in ignorance of Rudra’s message; there are short explanations for each track’s theme inside the CD booklet. For is not knowledge the key to enlightenment?
Pretentious allusions to pseudo-religious mysticism aside, the album’s momentum accelerates on the epic ‘Advaitamptra’ and its grandiose successor, ‘Natural Born Ignorance’, where mind-boggling guitar duels take center stage. ‘Immortality Roars’ is yet another brief instrumental, paving the way for the rest of ‘Transcendental I’’s scathing odes to universal wisdom, beginning with ‘Reversing The Currents’, a glorious track that’s punctuated by the painful self-questioning of singer/bassist Kathir who screams, “Who am I? What am I?” The album reaches a musical peak on the catchy ‘Avidya Nivrtti’.
Before the confusing ‘Majestic Ashtavakra’ closes the curtains on ‘Transcendental I’, Rudra have one last interlude called ‘Adiguru Namastubhyam’ as a transition to the firestorm they’ve prepared for the album’s end. Once the proverbial dust has settled, it becomes apparent that Rudra have executed a polished, complex release light years ahead of most attempts at concept records. ‘Brahmavidya: Transcendental I’ is a rare masterpiece deserving its own revered pedestal in the Heavy Metal pantheon.
