In the world of metal, it seems most bands aim for a sound that stands out somehow. Avantgarde Ritual Industrial Extreme Metal band, ISHVARA, seems to truly hit that mark. They released their first album on December 11, 2020; "Shape of a Void to Come".  With a mashup of textures and styles throughout, and ethnic inclusions; this was an interesting album for me at first listen. However, after a while I really started to pick up on the talent within. I have found in my time as a writer, that a band can play and sing perfectly well, and yet not have that chemistry that is needed to make their music stand out. ISHVARA has chemistry interwoven like fine spider silk within its nuanced sound.

"Vajrabhairava" - With a smoky, murky intro and possibly a banjo? Monk like vocals, and otherworldly haunting vocals invoke wild chaotic energy within the mind. The industrial nature of this song stands out a lot, with some synthesis to spice it up just a bit from industrials monotonous weirdness. With such a large mashup of styles one would expect this song to sound off kilter. However, that is not the case here. The combination of musical styles is artfully blended to create a seamless effect. "Hollow Heart" - The extreme metal vocals are much harder in this song as well as have a much more screamy/growly nature than the last song. The drum work about mid song is a violent induction to this mix. Yet the existential lyrics are deeply relatable. "Relativity of the Absolute" - Industrial and extreme to the core! Rife with drum work that leaves you somehow breathless. This is a wild song all around. It captures your mind like a tidal wave and violently takes you where it shall go.

"Cosmic Frequencies Diffused" - The spot light of this show is the vocals, they truly drive the emotion of this song to heart. The two singers pair side by side extremely well. Lacing grandiose imagery with their words, and emotion with the accompanied instrumentals. "Song of Fire" - Told as a story in time, followed by luscious notes from all instruments. The notes artfully dance a dance in the shadows of the dark recesses of your mind. Woven with longing and despair, this song makes your heart ache.

Truthfully, upon listening for the first time I wasn't quite so sure about this album, yet slowly my ears perked up the the gems this album holds within itself. This album has so much emotion and epic talent woven in all its crazy differences. This is truly a deeply artistic expression in metal, one I recommend our readers check out.