An initial silence breached by the sounds of falling rain. The air left hanging in stasis. Humid, unnerving and unknown. Then, as if the Tiger leaps for its prey and the final kill, the cacophony strikes. Barrage upon barrage of aggressive tremolo picked guitars and furious blast beats on drums. 'Seven! Sirens! To A Lost Archetype' jolts to life with frantic musicianship and stunning sound design with opening track 'Trimurti'. This is how you sway the unconverted. This is how you enrapture the fanatics. This is how you leave your mark on a listener. Never before has Black Metal so quickly left an indelible mark upon your humble reviewer.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, TEMPLE KOLUNDRA are a German Blackened Death Metal band. They incorporate the use of traditional eastern instruments into their symphony of aggression, weaving an incredibly captivating atmosphere with a innate sense of musicality and inventiveness. This is exactly the sort of music I can imagine 'Mola Ram' from 'Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom' listening to whilst practicing his rituals. There is much more to these songs than just an atmosphere however. This same sense of creativity is applied to the riff writing, and this has led to some of the most varied, and consistently brilliant, riffs.

'Varja' uses silence and pauses to create a dynamically fascinating piece, that captivates the listener from moment one. Every single idea is exploited for every single drop of potential, and grooves naturally morph and sway into each other. Seamlessness has been made a priority here, and it really helps to create a coherent piece of music, despite the increased length of all these songs. Instead of constant blast beats, in a failed attempt to seem "heavy", there are varied drum patterns that make the most of every riff, and mean when a blast is used, it hits like a juggernaut.

While TEMPLE KOLUNDRA almost flawlessly executed the breakneck paced material, 'This Diadem Will Last' shows that even when slowing things down, heaviness does not need to be sacrificed. The sound design is center stage during this song, and even without the use of guitars at points, the heaviness is always present. Every synth work combine with some phenomenal production, to create an atmosphere fitting of the most terrifying horror film. When guitars return, the sheer brutality of everything is turned up to eleven with booming, Doom-y riffs that 'Sun O)))' would be proud of. Whether you like your metal fast, slow or in-between, this record has it all. It is simply impossible to be bored listening to this ever evolving and mutating work of art.

This may be apparent by now, but this is quite possibly my favourite release of the year so far. The only criticism I can really level at it, is that I wish I had more of this fantastic Eastern vibe worked in. It never feels forced, or cheesy, here, meaning it really elevates already fantastic songs to a truly divine plane. Go buy this record now.Overall: 9