Yidhra: Cult of Bathory

At first glance, Yidhra presents itself as nothing more than a heavy metal cliché. First off, the band takes its name from a Lovecraftian deity. To my mind, there's never too much Lovecraft in anything, but some fans will want to know what else is out there inspiring the music they love. Slightly more familiar is the band's album title, Cult of Bathory. I hear so much about Elizabeth Bathory through heavy metal releases that I sometimes feel like an honorary member of the cult. There's seemingly no end to the popular culture references to the infamous killer Elizabeth Bathory and this album extends those even further. But it doesn't stop there; the music and lyrics transform the fascination with Elizabeth into an insightful statement about the ways that all humanity is implicated in harm to one extent or another. Are we all stained with the blood of human violence? Do we even perpetuate the cycle unknowingly?

Yidhra brings these familiar elements together to create something exciting. The album art does a good job tying together both Elizabeth and Yidhra in its portrayal of an attractive female contemplating a human skull. Yidhra may appear in human form. Perhaps the band is connecting the Lovecraft cult to the Bathory cult, an interesting twist on a familiar trope.

Musically, things are stronger still. Yidhra plays straightforward doom metal, but they do it well, In fact, the four songs on this release are ordered by quality. Even though the first two tracks are good, the second two are great. "The Adversary" is a solid (and sad) doom track while "Reign of Terror" kicks up a very welcome groove.

This is an excellent new release.

Track Listing:
1. Cult of Bathory
2. Iron Mountain
3. The Adversary
4. Reign of Terror

Added: March 17th 2016
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2225
Language: english

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