Album Art with Alex: Cult of Fire - मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान
Cult of Fire's 2013 album is a feast for the ears and eyes, even if the band's use of Indian religious iconography is subject to debate.
Cult of Fire is a black metal band from Prague that has become both famous and notorious for its usage of Eastern religious themes. Their most well-known release is the 2013 album मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान , or Ascetic Meditation of Death, whose cover features a striking portrait of the goddess Kali as painted by Dávid Glomba. The album's ferocious yet triumphant melodies made it one of my favorite releases of 2013, but what continues to make the listening experience special over a decade later is the gorgeous booklet affixed to the inside of the gatefold sleeve.
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| On the Funeral Pyre of Existence / Śava sādhanā |
The last era is about to end. The bottomless depth of darkness. The entire world is being taken away.
Kali is the embodiment of death itself. She is destroying the entire world. The universe is engulfed in infinite darkness.
Kali Ma has woken from her deep dream. Mother's fiery breath is turning life into death. Somewhere in the distance universe the last star is extinguishing, and Maha Devi is stoking the pyre of existence.
To the self-conscious universe. Mother is incinerating. The beginning of all eras. Great disaster.
The last era is about to end. Mother will wake up from sleep again. The bottomless depth of darkness. The entire world is being taken away.
She will create new worlds again. And when the end comes, this world will also be destroyed in the fire of Shunyata.
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| When Death is All |
The translations here also speak of death, rebirth, and transcendence:
The wind is roaring. I am becoming extinct without any reason.
The physical covering is being burnt. Mara's face is in front of me, full of emotions of ecstasy and worship. My soul is moving away from worldly sensibilities.
Adhar Sadhana. Death is the truth. Adhar Sadhana. Death is the only truth.
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| Khaṇḍa maṇḍa yōga |
My flame has been burning since eternity and will continue to burn till the end of the universe. (Left edge)
My body has been transformed and I am being destroyed. I am being destroyed in the fire. (Top)
My ego has been destroyed and my body is being burnt in the surrounding fire. (Right edge)
From bloody oceans, I came out refreshed and enlightened. (Bottom)
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| Burned by the Flame of Divine Love |
This was was also difficult for Google to handle, and depending on the angle, phrases overlapped and merged in ways that may not reflect the actual text. Here's what was produced for the left side:
Hazy shapes of ancient darkness. Karmas entangled in the depths of time. My soul was born towards dark self-knowledge. My soul is wandering in infinity. The forms of the past are disappearing like dancing shadows in the light of a lamp. Shapes are changing into other shapes. And I am becoming entangled in infinity.
Defeating the cycle of life and death [...]May my soul die in the flame of divine love
- if these representations of Kali are accurate,
- if the band's use of these images and themes go beyond mere kitsch/pastiche, and
- more broadly, if any of this could be considered cultural appropriation.
None of these questions are easily answered, especially not by a layman like me. I obviously lack the qualifications to evaluate Cult of Fire's take on Indian religion, but interestingly enough, I was able to find some scattered commentary on these topics from sources that are familiar with Cult of Fire and the cultures from which the band draws inspiration.
Ankit Sinha, an Indian journalist who has translated for Cult of Fire on several occasions, hosted a short-lived podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic titled Vajra Wisdom. The idea for the podcast came from an interaction that Sinha had on Instagram, in which a commenter asked about the associations between Shiva, devil worship, and the so-called 'left hand path'. In the episode concerning Western misconceptions about Tantra, Sinha argues that "the mystique of these deities [...] has kind of made people curious, and this curiosity has not always been positive." He mentions the sociopolitical and religious impacts of colonialism on India, which recast ancient deities like the aforementioned Kali—a "ferocious and dark skinned" female figure wearing "a garland of human heads"—as pagan idols. Because the thuggees who resisted British rule were Kali worshippers, the goddess became "the ultimate personification of evil" in the eyes of the colonial government.
Sinha then makes connections to Western occultists and heavy metal bands who draw inspiration from Indian religions, but in a way tainted by colonialism and orientalism.
"That's exactly why when we talk about a deity like Kali or Shiva out of context of their own philosophical and metaphysical tenets, we are entering a very dangerous territory. And I have seen different occult systems wherein they try to incorporate a practice of Kali or a practice of Shiva, so to speak, but then, they take these practices out of their original context and they try to incorporate that into their whole dualistic, Kabbalistic, or whatever system they're practicing with, in that direction.
That is very dangerous, and that is where we also see a lot of the problems, especially if I talk about the heavy metal or the Western black metal/death metal scene, because I am sure that a lot of my listeners are coming from this background. There's a lot of misconceptions that are around that surround these deities because they've seen these deities from their [Western] point of view and then they compare a Lilith with a Kali or a Lucifer with a Shiva. It is dangerous, and it serves no purpose [...] you're diluting their essence by mixing them, by mixing two disparate traditions."
Sinha namedrops Cult of Fire at the end of the episode, praising their ability "to represent Tantra—Indian Tantra—in its own pure way, without any mixing." Now, he may be biased due to his association with the band, but judging by how he speaks of occultists and metal bands who attempt to bend Tantric principles to their own ends, one can assume that he would not have worked with the band in the first place if he felt that their artistic intent was misplaced. I would also like to think that the members of Cult of Fire approached Sinha with an open mind and learned much through their work with him.
There is one other way that we may be able to gauge Cult of Fire's handling of these religious ideals, and that is through their first live performance in Asia, which appropriately took place in India, specifically at Trendslaughter VI in Bangalore. In an interview with Roy Dipankar, festival organizer Sandesh Shenoy describes the band as being "huge fans of Indian music, Indian culture, Indian gods" and cited their "ritualistic" energy as the prime reason for inviting them to perform.
Dipankar also interviews a table full of festival goers, one of whom jokes that he is looking forward to Cult of Fire performing a "pure black metal Kali Puja", a reference to the yearly festival celebrating Kali. There are assorted laughs, but then one man at the table, a musician who performs under the name Telal Xul, proudly displays his Sri Yantra pendant, which he wore specifically for the show. He goes on to express a combination of fascination and gratitude, citing how the band is "actually representing India" and the Shakta dharma's juxtaposition of life, death, and chaos. Footage from Cult of Fire's performance shows that Xul was not alone. Members of the crowd could be heard chanting the Kali Mantra along with the band, lending some credence to the humorous banter from earlier.
In the end, it doesn't seem that Cult of Fire intends to misrepresent Indian culture with Ascetic Meditation of Death, and criticism of their work appears limited to forum posts arguing that the album is guilty of putting style over substance. The band may benefit from their use of religious iconography—or, if one is feeling less charitable, the exotic mystique of such iconography—but I am willing to give Cult of Fire more than just the benefit of the doubt.
That might not sound like a ringing endorsement because it isn't. Again, I'm no expert. However, I'll leave you with this excerpt, taken from the liner notes of their 2020 EP Nirvana, which offers some insight into Cult of Fire's ethos:
The Tibetan script used for the lyrics of this album is considered sacred. Please do not keep the CD/vinyl on the floor, and do not step over it.
Do not throw or tear the album booklet containing the lyrics. Place it on a higher place [sic] and treat it with respect.