DARK BUDDHA RISING

Mathreyata

SVART

Finnish doom mystics match the immensity of the endtimes

SUNYAGA, THE OPENING track of the seventh album by Finnish metallers Dark Buddha Rising crashes in on a towering wave of doomladen riffage that ranks as one of the year’s finest intros. After a couple of minutes, spectral vocals are introduced – curiously reminiscent of Alice In Chains at their most seasick – and it’s clear you’re in for one heavy trip.

Having stunned many by way of their 2019 collaboration with kindred spirits Oranssi Pazuzu under the name The Waste – that ranks as their most formidable and all-encompassing statement to date. Plenty of bands in 2020, especially those belonging to the doom category, are described as psychedelic; Dark Buddha Rising are one of the few to actually sound as though they’re actively testing the limits of consciousness via their music.