Za Frumi – Legends Act 3: Cults.

• Label: Waerloga Records.
• Year: 2008.
• Style: Dark Tribal Ambient.
• Format: CD.

ZA FRUMI returned this summer with two new albums in their Legends series. This one is about the cults of the world. I have come to understand that the cults are certainly no pleasant collectives, on the contrary they seem to be the kind of cults you really should keep distance from. BUT, after listening to this album, and reading the booklet, I still don’t understand what the cults DO beside that they live in abandoned castles and fight a lot. I don’t know their true purpose. Maybe it takes a little more insight in this world of ZA FRUMI, or maybe I didn’t read enough, because one things is for sure and that is that Simon’s and Simon’s texts are far from incomplete.
Anyway, it’s the music that matters most to me, and once again, ZA FRUMI has composed some very interesting and diverse songs, consisting of dark ambient layers, samples, field recordings, vocals, flutes, forceful drums and this time also some tranquil acoustic guitar moments.
Three tracks into ”Cults”, I got hooked for the first time. ”The Cult of the Ysa´Ih” has a powerful war drum and really mysterious, hissing vocals, among other qualities that really attracts me. But no only the vocals are mysterious, the entire mood on the whole album is very mystical and that’s probably what I like the most about it. Listen to ”The Cult of Mortals”, a tranquil track with great field recordings, listen to the spoken word part in it, I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about but I’m really enchanted by his words.
”The Cult of Helizichor” is my favorite, both musically and ”literary”, it’s somewhat similar to ”The Cult of the Ysa´Ih” I told you about, a little more laid back maybe, and the sampled war recordings fit perfectly in the sound picture. And once again, the singing, or chanting, is terrific.
Must also mention the final track, ”The Blood Cult of the Nosferatu”, this cult seems to be the biggest threat to everything in the world, and in the corresponding text, it says ”They cut the throats of innocent children.” while the music is filled with crying infants and haunting grunts, it creates unpleasant images in your mind really, a cinematic and touching outro for sure.
So, yet another interesting release from the masters of fantasy music. But I mentioned that ZA FRUMI released two albums this summer, and I must say that the sister album to this one, ”Orders” is a few steps stronger. That doesn’t mean that ”Cults” is no good, not at all, because it is and it proves that ZA FRUMI is probably one on the most professional dark ambient projects around.