Culted - Of Death and Ritual

Averse Sefira have a new blog entry that’s worth reading. It addresses the question: “When will the next album come out? The answer: “When we’re ready”.

This concept is basic but powerful. So often we talk to musicians, and we toss off that question – “When will the next album come out?” – so easily, as if we have wiped our hands of their previous works. We mean well, of course. But, like Averse Sefira, we must not succumb to the record-tour-record-tour cycles that govern industry workings. I am still digesting Averse Sefira’s last album, Advent Parallax. And, hopefully I’ll always will be.

As a fan, of course, I support the band’s desire to hone its craft and express new ideas. But the band owes me nothing. Its offerings are blessings, not privileges.

Impatience, however, comes with great ardor. (Desire is the cause of all suffering.) Ergo, the EP. Sometimes it’s the proverbial stopgap that tides over fans (and/or record labels) until the next full-length. And sometimes it’s a fully realized entity that takes advantage of its brevity and timing.

This is the case with Culted‘s Of Death and Ritual (Relapse, 2010). It does three things: (1) recall the power of debut album Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep, (2) explore new directions, and (3) whet the appetite for more. Yes, appetite is suffering. But if Tiger Woods can get away with immeasurable quantities, we should be able to have 25 and a half minutes.

The new directions are exciting. “Spirituosa” suggests a more agile Godflesh, playfully twisting Sabbath riffs into throwing knives. “Whore” adds a few tons to the Swans original. “Black Cough, Black Coffin” and “Dissent” emerge from the depths of the debut, showing Celtic Frost and Sabbath bone structures. Foreground and background are equally active throughout. Perhaps this is to be expected for a project constructed by email between a Canadian band and a Swedish singer.

I suffer, but why? It’s obvious. I want more.

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Relapse (CD, t-shirt)