Rudra

Christening themselves after another handle for the Hindu goddess Shiva, these four Singaporean musicians addicted to extreme metal and philosophical enlightenment combine so many diverse elements on their newest “Brahmavidya: Transcendtal I,” it will likely burn a hole through your speakers.

Blessed with the brains of Cynic, the barbaric musical splendor of Nile, and Behemoth’s patented brutality, Rudra are slowly emerging as leaders in South East Asian death metal. In fact, any other band incorporating Hindu themes into their sound would suffer in comparison to Rudra, who have perfected the method across a six-album discography.

Starting with a soft intro, priestly incantations and pseudo religious mysticism plagues “Bhagavadpada Namaskara.” Since the average listener does not understand a single word that’s recited, the Rudra guys were thoughtful enough to provide short explanations of their theme in the CD’s booklet. The heavy stuff comes crashing down for the furious “Ravens of Paradise” where the evil snarls and throbbing bass lines from frontman Kathir adds to a monstrous din of numbing decibels.

He’s every bit the most important member of the band, having assiduously studied the Hindu Vedas upon which Rudra’s songs are based for years. Kathir is no slouch on bass either with the rumbling notes from his instrument heard clearly amid the sturm and drang of the band’s other ace musicians.

“Amrtasyaputra,” “Hymns from the Blazing Chariot,” “Advaitamtra,” “Natural Born Ignorance,” “Reversing the Currents,” “Avidya Nivrtti,” and “Not The Seen But The Seer” form an unbreakable chain of intense tracks bursting with enormous riffs, powerful bass lines, insane blastbeats from a drummer who probably has as many arms as Shiva named Shiva, and these spectacular guitar solos.

It’s obvious Rudra have mastered their songcraft to the point where each epic number (nothing here clocks in less than three minutes) is executed with precision most bands would envy. A bit of variety also comes the listener’s way with the instrumental segues that pace the album every few songs, these are “Meditations At Dawn,” the glorified drum solo that’s “Immortality Roars,” and “Adiguru Namastubyam” serving as a prelude to the immense closing track, “Majestic Ashtavakra.” Blessed with flawless production and enough brains to raise dismal metalhead IQ levels, Rudra marks the violent evolution of music’s most uncompromising genre.

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