Cult Of Fire - Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně review
| Band: | Cult Of Fire |
| Album: | Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně |
| Style: | Black metal |
| Release date: | December 08, 2014 |
| A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. Vltava
02. Váh
Cult Of Fire are one of those bands. What do I mean by this exactly? Essentially, that they're a band that's never been content with being grounded in one particular style. Of course, this is no new feat, but given the fact that these Czechs are still only 4 years old, it's quite impressive. Their debut EP and Triumvirate were raw, atmospheric-tinged black metal, the recent one with the Hindi title was drenched in Eastern influences, and now 2014's Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně EP is a sort of neoclassical ode to Czechoslovakia, and perhaps the band's fullest embrace of their culture yet.
Being the history nerd I am, bands celebrating their native culture is a very attractive feature of an album. Here, Cult Of Fire are paying their respects to 19th century composer Bedrich Smetana, often held as the "father" of Czech music. As one could imagine then, this EP, though only a brief 13 minutes, is an excellent tribute to him. The music here is oozing with classical influence, and "Vltava" is in fact actually a cover of sorts of the Smetana piece of the same name. Of course, the track picks up eventually with some black metal intensity, but if you're a classical music enthusiast, you'll be able to tell that even when it does, it still maintains a general chord progression typical of the genre.
Vocals are strangely absent from Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně, a fact that may disappoint some, but in some way, due to the fact that the music here does almost feel like its own little symphony of sorts, the presence of vocals would almost feel inappropriate. It's nice to know that Cult Of Fire can go instrumental and still retain their potency, and were they to do a full album sitting more in this style, I for one would be highly interested in it.
With Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně, this little-known Czech band offers us a powerful reminder of what some may often be tempted to forget: that classical music has had a massive influence on the metal genre, and black metal especially. I remember watching a metal documentary years back where some music commentator quipped that "if Richard Wagner were alive today, he'd be in Black Sabbath," and when listening to this EP, it's easy to understand why such claims are made. Though this EP is a little too short for its own good, with it Cult Of Fire cement their status as a band capable of redefining themselves, which is indeed a very attractive quality. I am very curious to see where these guys go in the future from here, and I'm certain that were Smetana alive today to hear this EP, he'd be very proud of their work.
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Comments: 31
Visited by: 179 users
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
I just streamed Vltava from the band's official soundcloud page. Face-meltingly awesome. I will admit that there were a few longer passages where they simply layed blast beats over the melody, but it somehow worked perfectly. It added TEXTURE instead of seeming like they were just trying to "heavy" something up. The rest of the tune continued to experiment with textures in an awesome way. Cannot wait to hear the other song. This EP is on my list. And of course I immediately went looking for the previous albums! Also a fan of bands who offer new surprises each time, I'm excited to hear the other works of a band who would produce this EP. Awesome review, btw. I love how you packed a lot of information in here amongst your thoughts on the music. Maybe it's partly because I'm a huge classical music nerd but this was a quick and interesting read that made me want to drop everything and listen. Glad I did! Thanks dude.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by Susan on 08.11.2014 at 16:54 You definitely should check out their backwork, their album last year was easily one of the best BM releases of 2013, and got my vote in the MSA. And thanks! I think offering up the proper context behind an album is important, and that's something I try to do when the situation calls for it 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| barnesy Posts: 133  |
Very good. Kept my interest and instrumentals usually don't do that for me. Having a little background behind the EP I like it even more. I loved their 2013 Sanskrit text album (never know what to call it) and agree it was one of the best of the year. The coolest thing about these guys is how unique their sound is. You can tell who it is the second they start to play.
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| roeder Posts: 149  |
Written by barnesy on 08.11.2014 at 18:35 Ascetic Meditation of Death is the translation of the album title
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| barnesy Posts: 133 |
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| Urs Blank Posts: 319  |
I'm ashamed I may have enjoyed reading this review even more than actually listening to the EP, which I did enjoy a lot  Also I find that the cover art fits perfectly with the music.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Urs Blank on 08.11.2014 at 19:03 Yep, it's supposed to be a portrait of Smetana, I'm guessing
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Urs Blank Posts: 319 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 08.11.2014 at 19:08 Surely but I mean the way he is depicted, with all the candles and his grim, deathly pale face 
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by barnesy on 08.11.2014 at 18:35 Yep, hence why I gave this an N/A. I usually do that with albums that I don't think you can score because they're too unique to really be judged against any other sort of established standard, and off the top of my head I can't really think of any other bands that this EP sounds like.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=126528] on 08.11.2014 at 21:19 Well you're totally missing the point then. Clearly N/A means different things to different people, if I both loved and hated an album, I'd probably give it a 6, sitting right on that "this is good, but it's also shit" territory. N/A is my way of saying "this album is too unique to be scored in comparison to other albums of the same style, because there AREN'T any (or many) albums of the same style." I've used it in the past with Sunn O))), Botanist, Bong, The Meads Of Asphodel, etc. I would like to think that my thought process there isn't that difficult to comprehend.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=126528] on 08.11.2014 at 21:38 Indeed, different strokes. All I'm trying to get at is that I have trouble scoring things I view as highly original because it gets difficult for me to be like "ok guys, you played this music as the style is supposed to be played, so a 9 for you!" In other words, there's nothing too similar enough to compare it against. I suppose there probably are some neoclassical metal bands out there that probably do sound a little bit like this EP, but like I said, I can't think of any off the top of my head
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Andrew_Deer None,really Posts: 62  |
It makes me proud of being czech thank you! We don't have many so great bands in here, partially because it's kinda hard to get attention, in many cases revival bands are wanted more than original bands so every little peak like this somehting special.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Andrew_Deer on 08.11.2014 at 22:13 !.T.O.O.H.! and Master's Hammer
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| MetalDoomMaster Posts: 566 |
Written by Andrew_Deer on 08.11.2014 at 22:13 Oh come on, you only have some of the best bands ever. !T.O.O.H.!, Lykathea Aflame, and Cult of Fire just to name a few. I am pretty jealous actually haha.
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941 |
Written by [user id=126528] on 08.11.2014 at 21:38 Really interesting points of view re: the NA! I enjoyed reading both sides. I often select NA instead of a number if I want the words to really speak for themselves, instead of being tainted by what the READER associates with a 7 or an 8 or a 9 rating. Other times, albums might be highly, highly genre specific and therefore the rating standard varies greatly. Those are two additional arguments to throw into the pot (Once or twice I may have been lazy, I suppose!)
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941 |
Written by Andrew_Deer on 08.11.2014 at 22:13 Other readers mentioned some great Czech bands above; my favorite is Silent Stream of Godless Elegy. Cult of Fire will definitely be near the top of my list for Czech bands now, though. Děkuji vam! \m/
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| D. Monique Posts: 46 |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by D. Monique on 09.11.2014 at 10:32 Heh, I knew someone would mention this eventually  The reason I called it that was because really, what Cult Of Fire are doing here are paying tribute to the land as it was, not as it is. During Smetana's lifetime, it was still Czechoslovakia, which is why I used that name.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Alien1988 Posts: 122 |
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| Andrew_Deer None,really Posts: 62 |
Also Trollech is known abroad. But I meant it more like those bands are known, but, at least for me, they are really underground bands (not counting SSOGE and maybe Umbrtka) and I don't have much opportunity to see them live. But I never thought there's so much popularity abroad! That's really cool...
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| D. Monique Posts: 46 |
I think that the best known Czech band is still Master's Hammer. Bands like Emperor and Darkthrone even mentioned them in some interviews among the bands which influenced them. Fenriz once called Master's Hammer's debut album Ritual "the first Norwegian black metal album, even though they are from Czechoslovakia" and King Fowley from Deceased said that "the last great 'black metal' record I heard and sincerely appreciated was 'Ritual'." Nevertheless, I'm really happy that so many people appreciate younger Czech bands like Lykathea Aflame, Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy and Cult of Fire but I think that Forgotten Silence, Demimonde and some other great bands are really underappreciated (even in their own country). Alien1988 is right, neither Czechoslovakia nor the Czech Republic existed during Smetana's life. I don't expect that people outside this country will know these facts. I don't mind when people think that Czechs and Slovaks still live together. It's still better than to think that Czechs live in Chechnya and all of them are muslims and terrorists.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by D. Monique on 09.11.2014 at 21:40 I lol'd 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| D. Monique Posts: 46 |
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| Nethrakh Posts: 16  |
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| Tomas Piller Posts: 100  |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 09.11.2014 at 15:18 Nice review, but honestly this last statement is really far-fetched I don't know if you listened to the original 12 mins long Vltava poem by Smetana from around 1874, but this 'Vltava' basicaly takes two unmodified samples of that masterpiece and throws uninspired blastbeats in. That's it. Reminds me of that laughable Butterfly ripoff of RHCPs Pretty Little Ditty by Crazy Town - the same recipe. How could possibly an author of this century-and-half old amazing classic (and many more) played by countless performers and listened to by hundreds of milions over the time be proud of...this. Come on Btw did you know he actualy composed Vltava being deaf? Unbelievable talent!
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Tomas Piller on 13.01.2015 at 18:46 Well I feel he'd be amused or intrigued by it, at the very least. Who doesn't like seeing that their art has inspired more art? I'd like to think the same of Tolkien in regards to LOTR-themed metal, or Herman Melville in regards to the Moby Dick-themed albums that are out there. Here I think Cult Of Fire are more so paying tribute to Smetana with their own little twist than anything else... which is, in my eyes, exactly how a cover (if you'd care to call these tracks that) should be properly conducted: don't try to recreate the piece in question to a T, take it and make it your own.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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