ALBUM REVIEW: Mara – Cult of Lilith

Despite only having a population that’s lower than 500,000 people the Nordic nation of Iceland has spawned a legion of bands that have taken the metal world by storm. SVARTIDAUĐI, MISÞYRMING, ZHRINE, SINMARA…the list goes on. But whilst these bands typically fall under the remit of black metal, the truth is that Iceland’s extreme music scene is a much volatile and dynamic beast. Enter CULT OF LILITH, who intend to join their fellow countrymen’s domination of metal with their debut full-length offering Mara.

An amalgamation of death metal, tech, and progressive tenancies, Mara is a deeply-layered album that is rich in flavour, character and a potency for sheer aural destruction.

Opener Cosmic Maelstrom quite literally conjures a maelstrom of aural devastation as a whirlwind of technical riffing pack an almighty punch and boast enough intricacy to prick the attention of the more tech-minded listener whilst the inter-changing vocals from gutturals to cleans are as snappy as they are effective. As far as opening statements go, CULT OF LILITH throw down the gauntlet and set a mighty strong precedent.

However, if you’d think that Mara was just a straightforward tech death album, then you’d be mistaken as across the record’s eight tracks, CULT OF LILITH unleash many a surprise, pulling from their wide range of musical influences to keep you on your toes. Purple Tide walks a tightrope between tech death and throwback 80s prog as the crushing riffs intertwine with subtle splashes of synth and a devilishly fun organ to create a sound that feels fresh and defines the word progressive whilst Profeta Paloma‘s gorgeous passage of acoustic guitars and expertly dispatched cleans or the stunning way in which the softer opening in finale Le Soupir du Fantome really helps build the atmosphere before the chaos resumes once more, both stand out as two of the album’s strongest moments.

And yet for all the band’s experimental diversions, Mara still remains an utterly brutal album. When CULT OF LILITH go for the kill, they really do go in full guns blazing. Enter The Mancubus is testament as this as a blistering assault of tech-driven guitars and double bass kicks ensures the heaviness is ramped up to the max whilst Atlas‘ measured approach in terms of the tempo allows the riffs to hit all the more harder. If anything, the band’s ability to remain as heavy as they are progressively nuanced ensures that Mara ticks all the right boxes and has hooks sharp enough to sink right in.

Mara is a confident and strong opening strike from CULT OF LILITH. Full of flavour and truly outstanding moments across the record’s runtime, the band’s willingness and commitment to experiment has payed off big time here. Iceland may be firmly on the metal map thanks to its outstanding black metal scene, but on the back of Mara, we can safely say that CULT OF LILITH will be expanding the Nordic nation’s influence.

Rating: 8/10

Mara is out now via Metal Blade Records. 

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