Band:	Nibiru
Album:	Padmalotus
Style:	Drone, Psychedelic sludge metal
Release date:	May 18, 2015
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Krim
02. Ashmadaeva
03. Trikona
04. Khem

In recent years, a good few occult theorists and scientists who spend too much time reading Zecharia Sitchin have come to proclaim the inevitable return of Nibiru. If they're talking about the fabled planet, I'd say their arguments are probably shit out of luck, but if they happen to be referring to the band, they're dead on. The Italian trio that is Nibiru are indeed here again on the psychedelia block, and they're striking back with what is perhaps their most powerful album to date.

For those unfamiliar with Nibiru, from these guys you can expect a sound somewhere lost in space in between the planets of Ufomammut and Dark Buddha Rising. As with their previous material, on Padmalotus Nibiru are essentially conducting one massive sonic ritual, a distinct fusion of drone, sludge, and an underlying psychedelic atmosphere that is the ideal type of music for lulling a listener into a dazed, semiconscious state. Once again, there is a feeling here that everything is seamless and interconnected. Despite there being different techniques employed in each track here, there is a very superb, inherent sense of flow connecting everything, this feeling that when you hit the play button Nibiru just grab your hand and snatch you into the astral plane, refusing to let go for the next hour until you're finally back in your waking life asking yourself what the hell just happened.

But although continuing with many of their techniques of before, on Padmalotus Nibiru also prove themselves as willing to innovate, and highly successful at doing so. For one thing, this album expands immensely on the use of vocals. It's not just a few audio samples amongst a vast ocean of psychedelic jamming anymore, and now the band are content to add in some interesting shrieked vocals, buried murkily in the mix to give them that extra mysterious edge. In addition, the blend of drone, psychedelia, and sludge really feels more evened out here than ever before. On prior releases each track tended to lean more towards one area in particular, but here you can see that Nibiru are now comfortable with all three in a single one. "Khem" is as good an example as any, an absolutely massive closer that proves these guys definitely know how to end their albums on a high note.

Furthermore, Padmalotus represents Nibiru really coming into their own, maturing a lot as composers and crafting a much more distinct identity for themselves in the process. The more I listen to this type of music, the more I'm able to appreciate how truly meticulous one has to be in its crafting, because it ultimately comes down to having a very keen ear for the art of building a heavily layered wall of sound, and Nibiru most certainly have it down on this album. A definite highlight this year in the drone and psychedelic departments, and highly recommend for any of my fellow psychonauts, or people who are just looking to get that inner trance gene stimulated.

Let the ritual commence!