Rudra

For those unfamiliar with Singapore-based Rudra’s sound, their music might come as a bit of a shock, but the band have been playing their meld of Carnatic ragas and blackened death metal styled around the Vedas for more than 15 years now. Brahmavidya: Transcendental I is their fifth album and the second chapter in the continuing Brahmavidya trilogy (after Brahmavidya: Primordial I). In keeping with Rudra’s style, the album is mostly straightforward death metal interspersed and interlinked with Sanskrit shlokas, Indian classical pieces and ambient textures. Opening with a Sanskrit invocation to the guru (”˜Bhagavadpada Namaskara’), ”˜Ravens of Paradise’ kicks off proceedings in epic style, with some killer mid-tempo riffing set to a Carnatic tune. ”˜Immortality Roars’ is perhaps the most unusual track on the album, a chanted-word shloka set only to a chiming veena and a hard-driving drum solo in a self-styled tandav ”“ powerful in its simplicity. The band have clearly upped the production and musicianship on Transcendental I and continue to stand by their absolute belief in the philosophy of the Vedas but the theme can get pretty dense for a casual listener. Also, by the time you’re halfway through the album, the repetitive opening drone of the veena on most tracks and the classical breakdowns begin to chafe a bit on the ears, especially given the long playing time of the album (around 70 minutes). For fans of the band though, this is a celebration of Rudra’s best work yet and the fact that the band continues to persevere with their sound, honing their skills with every album indicates that Rudra can only get better from here.