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Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata review




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Reviewer:
8.5

37 users:
7.7
Band: Dark Buddha Rising
Album: Mathreyata
Release date: November 2020


01. Sunyaga
02. Nagathma
03. Uni
04. Mahathgata III

Where one person's journey ends, another's begins. The dark Buddha is rising again.

The night is dark at the beginning of our tale. Our protagonist inhales, coughs and closes their eyes?

When they open them again, they find themselves amidst a procession ambling through a forest, destination unknown. The protagonist feels overwhelmed by the impossibility of the experience, but whilst battling to avoid being suffocated by their senses, they can hear the procession begin to chant. As voices join the chorus, each more primal than the last, this whirlwind of sounds is almost too much for our protagonist to bear, but just before they reach the point of no return, the procession pauses.

Shrouded in darkness, the company gathers and waits, until they hear the sound of drums echoing in the distance, accompanied by the manic howls of some superhuman being. The troupe continues, moving with purpose to the rhythm of these marching drums, and our protagonist lets go of their old reality to join the choir. Screams echo through the night, providing a grisly soundtrack for the final stretch of the sinister march as a feeling of ominous dread grows.

Arriving a mysterious stone temple, the chanting gives way to eerie silence, disturbed only by the sounds of nature, as torches are lit. The drums return for this final step of the journey, steady at first, but whether in reality or in our protagonist's mind, the drums become increasingly chaotic, once again overwhelming their mind. Engulfed by a cacophony of sound, they fail to notice that the troupe has dissipated, leaving the scene before them clear: a large hall, with an altar in the centre.

The mood has changed; where just before there was chaos, now there is ceremony, with proceedings led by a priestess. Reciting a prayer in a foreign tongue, the priestess commences the ritual, and the congregation responds. The manic howls first heard in the forest return, louder and nearer. Wondering from whence this voice came, the protagonist notices too late that they are again surrounded. Flanked by hooded figures, they are grabbed and taken towards the centre of the hall, the congregation chanting horrifyingly in unison.

Forced to lie upon the altar, our protagonist puts up little resistance, crippled by fear. Looking towards the ceiling, they are faced with a large hole, a window to the night sky. The sky is clear and the stars are numerous, but soon they are gone, replaced by black. Somehow, the blackness grows, a plume of smoke that begins to take form. Surely not, they tell themselves, this cannot be possible. And yet, the amorphous cloud of smoke transforms into a giant, menacing being. The dark Buddha opens his giant mouth, unleashes another manic howl, and reaches down to claim the sacrifice. Accepting their fate, our protagonist closes their eyes?

After an eternity of embracing the void, they tentatively open their eyes, look over at the bong and decide maybe they'll leave it a few months before their next DMT trip.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Production: 9





Written on 16.11.2020 by Hey chief let's talk why not


Comments

Comments: 2   Visited by: 103 users
16.11.2020 - 23:06
Rating: 8
musclassia

This was an experiment for me, inspired by Apothecary's fantastic review of the previous Dark Buddha Rising full-length; this is a pale imitation of that review, but hopefully it does an adequate job of conveying what a compelling journey Mathreyata takes the listener on. Time will tell how it compares with Inversum, but both are amongst my favourite efforts in the drone genre
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16.11.2020 - 23:36
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Fantastic review for a fantastic album
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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