Band:	Saqra's Cult
Album:	The 9th King
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	January 11, 2019
A review by:	nikarg

01. The 9th King
02. Endless Devotion
03. Legends Of Pururaucas
04. Last Denial

Inca-themed black metal from Belgium. This is globalization for you.

The Dance of Saqra is one of the main performances during the Festival of the Virgen del Carmen and has its origins in the late 19th century in the province of Paucartambo, Cusco in Peru. "Saqra" means roguery, restlessness, agility or mischief in English and all that is reflected in a wonderful performance in honour of the Virgin. The mischievous Saqra dancers wear masks of animals such as pigs, bats, dogs and cats among others and this is all the background story you need to know in order to grasp the theme behind Saqra's Cult music.

The 9th King is the sophomore effort by this Belgian act with members that also take part in the band Maleficence. The cover artwork warns you about an occult black metal ritual that you are supposed to experience and, although it starts very promisingly with a capella screams and shrieks and howls that truly sound as though they are summoning the most unholy spirits, the rest of the album is more or less straight-forward black metal and you have to wait until the closer, "Last Denial", rewards you with some more shamanic and ghostly chanting. If this is your first encounter with Saqra's Cult and you are not familiar with their debut, Forgotten Rites, you'll be pleasantly surprised, but the truth is that The 9th King is missing a lot of the tribal and exotic sounds and elements that helped form its predecessor's uniqueness.

However, I don't want to convey that I am disappointed by the album because this is not the case at all. The quality of the songwriting remains quite high, with brilliant riffs, upsetting dissonance, intense chugging and a very convincing performance overall. The vocals are deranged and often layered, creating a terrifying atmosphere, which is complemented by some very inspired and thundering drumming with extensive and masterful use of cymbals. So, even though in its 30-minutes of runtime The 9th King doesn't sound as original and extraordinary as Forgotten Rites did, there is no denying that it is still a black metal release totally worth checking out.

If you are looking for preparation music before your ayahuasca ceremony, [url= https://amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com/album/saqras-cult-the-9th-king]the Cult delivers[/url].