It is not often that I receive CDs from an Asian country and it was the first time that one came from Singapore. That’s right: Singapore; the tiny city-state between Malaysia and Indonesia; even in this unlikely region of the world the metal virus has spread.

”Brahmavidya: Primordial I” is the fourth CD of Rudra and it is labelled by the band as Vedic metal, which means that they derive inspiration from the ancient Hindu scriptures, chants and mantras

The combination of metal and ethnic rhythms and melodies is not new, in fact Sepultura became famous with it through their (overrated) Roots album and Nile revolutionized the entire death metal genre with their Egyptian influences, but Rudra take it to new heights.
The Indian, Vedic ingredient is no gimmick or attempt to flavour the sound but is an integral part of the music of Rudra and equally important as the metal ingredient.

Speaking of the metal ingredient: Rudra harks back to early nineties death metal with a fair amount of thrash metal which rips and sounds already great on its own.

For those who are familiar with Melechesh and maybe The Firstborn (which I also reviewed recently): you know a bit what to expect and for those who don’t: expect a brilliant blend of ancient mantras, Indian percussion and metal. The track “Shihovan” is a traditional Indian ballad or at least I think it is and it is the prelude for the grand finale: “In The Fourth Quarter: Turiya.
On this track they give everything they’ve got and it is definitely the best track on the whole album. Magnificent almost industrial drums hammer the listener down for the last time and form the apotheosis for this great album.