Band:	Cult Of Fire
Album:	Nirvana
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	February 2020

01. Buddha 1
02. Buddha 2
03. Buddha 3
04. Buddha 4
05. Buddha 5

In a perfect world, Nirvana, the second half of Cult Of Fire's two album return this year, would be significantly different from Moksha. A counterpart album, a complementary listen, the yin to Moksha's yang if you will. But I suppose we don't live in a perfect world, do we?

Being blunt, it took me quite a few listens to really figure out exactly what differentiates Nirvana from Moksha sound wise, and a part of me still doesn't quite understand why Cult Of Fire didn't simply release the tracks from both as a single, 70 minute album. Organizational nitpicking aside, if there is a key distinction to be found with Nirvana, it could probably best be described in one word: speed. Both Moksha and Nirvana are grounded in the same sort of Indian - tinged black metal foundation that has at this point become Cult Of Fire's signature, but whereas the former sits in more of a midtempo, almost jammy area, the latter is more upbeat and at times seems a bit more frantic. "Buddha 2" is perhaps the best demonstration of this, employing blasts that were largely absent on Moksha, a more traditional, tremolo picking type approach, and having an overall "soaring" quality about it not too far off from the approach taken on Triumvirát, the band's debut.

Additionally, Nirvana does appear to be slightly more focused on that epic, atmospheric dimension of Cult Of Fire's personality that Moksha largely seemed to ignore, but only very mildly so, and it still leaves a good bit to be desired on that front. Nonetheless, it is better than nothing. The beginning of "Buddha 3," for instance, is pretty mesmerizing and relaxing, and a definite highlight of both Moksha and Nirvana. And "Buddha 4" even has some segments pop up toward its middle that could, very loosely, be dubbed "symphonic." Although this album seems to tap into this territory somewhat more so than Moksha did, it still leaves a pretty lasting feeling of "I wish you guys had gone deeper into that," and indeed, the ventures into said territory still appear pretty sparse and short lived in the grand scheme of the songwriting.

Taken together, Moksha and Nirvana are pretty decent releases, and even though they may be found wanting in some respects, they're still probably better than what a lot of other black metal bands could churn out on their best days. But comparing them to past Cult Of Fire material, there's still a lingering feeling that they could be so much more, that they're both missing some vital ingredient that made the band so special and memorable in the past. Frankly, this could simply be owed to the fact that Cult Of Fire have now invested in their Indian black metal sound for the better part of seven years. Perhaps it simply doesn't feel as new and impressive anymore with each new release from the band, and if this is the case I for one certainly wouldn't mind them exploring new sounds in the future, to keep the momentum rolling and the ideas fresh.

For now, however, we have two new installations in the Czech trio's saga of soaring, Vedic black metal: the midtempo, riff centric Moksha, and the upbeat, slightly-more-epic Nirvana.