Ii [LP]

2018 release. Prepare the mind, the body, the deepest recesses of the soul: the black gates that Dark Buddha Rising opened a decade ago with I open further: the band's II EP continues to twist spiritual gyres and follow calls from beyond. For ten years, this Finnish band has convened in the now-famous Wastement - set below their home city of Tampere - to roil in the sounds of the underground, to meet dark spirits, to breathe in time with rhythmic pulses sent from the skies, the stars and the very dirt around. On it's face, the band emits the blackest of psychedelia; deep down, theirs are sounds forged in the blue fires of the ancients - xhalations of gods, goddesses and demons alike. This EP sees the band returning to it's purest incarnation: a three-piece rhythm section - J. Rämänen on drums, P. Rämänen on bass and V. Ajomo on guitar - and with J. Saarivuori on synths and M. Neuman on main vocals.