"मृत्यु का वीभत्स नृत्य"

Czech black metal has always boasted a certain wild-eyed enthusiasm and esoteric menace. Back in the late 1980s and early 90s, pioneers like Root, Maniac Butcher, and the immortal Master's Hammer took hold of the then-fledgling genre by the throat and brutally twisted it into some of the darkest, strangest, and most genuinely evil permutations imaginable. Now, Prague-based newcomers Cult of Fire aim to follow in those leaden footsteps with their sophomore LP (and first for German powerhouse Iron Bonehead).

Guitarist/vocalist Vlad has served as a live guitarist for Maniac Butcher since 2010, but even considering his experience there and with black/death cult Death Karma, the Sanskrit-titled ''मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान" is far from derivative. A dynamic smorgasbord, "मृत्यु का वीभत्स नृत्य" proves just how nuanced and ingenious their approach to heavily atmospheric, coldly executed black metal really is. Esoteric mysticism from the East meets blistering tremolo and lush, dissonant melodies from the West, and the results are staggering.