On April 6, 2020, KULKODAR released "Apostate Literature." KULKODAR is an American black metal band that hails from the most kvlt of places, Idaho! According to the band, they formed in 2018 but faced many issues while working on this debut album. "Apostate Literature" is about the band's dislike for cults and religions. After listening to this album, their dislike is readily apparent.

This album is purely irreverent black metal and the fury of death metal. Almost every track has discordant riffs that echo the vitriol of the band's message. The growling vocalist is great; his infernal screaming and howling suits the music perfectly. What I dislike about the album is the use of clean singing. A few tracks use choral singing for an eerie atmosphere, but the effect is diminished by the tone of the voices. Off-key singing can be used well, but on this record, the singing is distractingly off-key.

"White Temple Blood Bath" is a blasphemous start to the album, with a brief dark keyboard section in the middle. "Pagan Black Wish" continues in the same vein with dark and ferocious riffs, though with the addition of clean vocal choral singing. I suppose it is meant to be ominous, but the singing loses its effect quickly. "Phantom Of The Grey" uses the same clean vocal choir effect. However, this track is a much stronger one in general, with a great buildup, jarring riffs, and a keyboard melody adding atmosphere at the end.

"Emancipation of Indoctrination" has a great dark keyboard intro with spine-tingling whispers. The child speaking, which I believe was added for effect again. Otherwise, it's another great black metal track. For some reason, the production quality of the album decreased audibly with "Black Eclipse." Like raw black metal tracks, the drums are compressed, and the vocals are buried in the mix. After that track, "Requiem Of The Soul" is an instrumental with a sharp guitar solo that is a welcome return to better production. "Worm Queen" has slightly raw vocals, though the drums and guitar sound well produced. The album closer "333" is less furious than the other tracks. It's a relatively subdued end.

Overall, I recommend this album to black metal fans. The black metal riffs are well written and performed. There are some symphonic elements, but it isn't overdone.