Emerging from black metal origins, Remmirath has progressed during its existence into an experimental entity that is difficult to be pigeonholed both musically and ideologically. After the demo Smrť Pútnikova released in 2005 and debut album Polis Rouge from 2008 (Ravenheart Productions), the second album Shambhala Vril Saucers is ready to be unleashed after finding a suitable label.
CD version released in cooperation of two labels. Comes in a 6-panel digipak. Limited to 500 copies
Imagine something weird, something magical and truly out there or something hidden in the highest mountains of Nepal and you have yet to reach the pinnacle of what Remmirath is about. The Slovakian's troop second full length is one of the weirdest albums you can find in metal nowadays. Sigh wishes they would be this exploratory and avant-garde but Mirai is probably too busy hanging out with Mikannibal backstage. This quintet definitely went to the Master's Hammer's school of wonders (think of their controversial album Šlágry), it's just one country away and everything is nearby in Europe while I need to pack provisions for a week if I'm going out to get the newspaper here.
I knew that I was in for an experimental ride when I noticed that the album had a member dedicated to and I quote “Effects, Tingsha and Throat chanting”. Some other instruments included on the record are the Melodica, the Glockenspiel, the Thunderbox, the jaw harp, the claves or even some maracas. We're pretty far from the traditional bass, guitar and drums setup, friends. They still manage to incorporate these elements gracefully, it's all over the place, yes but not in a highly chaotic, dissonant or disorderly manner. Compared to their excellent debut “Polis Rouge” released back in 2008, this album is less metal but perhaps as good and interesting.
The six songs release could be divided in at least two parts but let's keep it minimal and say that the first four four tracks are an amalgamation of extreme metal and well, everything that they managed to fit inside their minds. This includes ethnic world music (think Indian, Nepalese and obviously Eastern European as the band is Slovakian), progressive metal à la Alchemist, surf rock and Sergio Leone spaghetti western music reminding me of one of my favorite bands, Leeches of Lore (listen to “The Gunfighter's Quest for Enlightment”).
Secondly, the last two songs are non-metal psychedelic explorations with strange sampled vocals and Melechesh-esque Mesopotamian rhythms. The album's ending is unusual but it's not a bad thing, it's incredible to hear an album that's so diverse but so cohesive at the same time. It almost has nothing to do with Satan's favorite music though, it's more about the Dalai-Lama playing poker in space while getting a blowjob from an Indian hooker living in Bratislava.
The opener “Tiger of the City” starts with a bang and these deep harsh vocals and includes a wide array of psychedelia. It has a vintage video-game section before going back to the melodic progressive black metal riffs that you heard early on. The metal riffs, when present, are legit, not always black metal either, it has this progressive death metal vibe from time to time. Outside of the unorthodox instruments mentioned earlier, the traditional rock music elements are through the roof. The bass is thick, highly audible, almost fret-less in its presence and the drums are varied and technically proficient. Nonetheless, these doesn't quite matter in the grand scheme of things, I was wooed by the tremendous originality of their music. It's not for everyone, probably for a small minority of people, this is uncompromising and weirder than Yoko Ono on acid.
Also, random fact, the album was released on my birthday and I heard it on the same day. It was a weird anniversary to say the least!
Sample:
