Mara

"Necromechanical baroque", that is the province of Cult Of Lilith. Founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2015, Cult of Lilith can be described as a frantic collision of death metal, prog, complex classical structures and any other style they wish to incorporate. Their debut album, Mara, is a restless, constantly shifting collection that is as imaginative as it is compulsive.

Opening track Cosmic Maelstrom more than lives up to its name, kicking off with a harpsichord intro before exploding in a thousand different directions, while Zangano is brutality incarnate, a much more beautiful opening section heralding the arrival of Atlas before opening the door to crushing riffs. The agitated attack of Profeta Paloma unexpectedly gives way to an extended flamenco section, which is haunting. The themes of standout tracks Atlas and Comatose are linked, both making reference to feelings attached to certain events in the vocalist's life in the last two years, in which he experienced the most intense emotional anguish he had ever felt. Tracking was done at two studios: drums laid down at Dutch Ice Productions with renowned engineer Chris van der Valk (Hail of Bullets) with everything else recorded at Júlíusson's Krummafótur Studio. The results speak for themselves, and open a thrilling new chapter for a band helping establish Iceland's place on the extreme metal map.