There’s nothing quite like a distinct, unexpected shift in a band’s sound to make one’s head turn. A little bit of a change is one thing with that being something that a band can ease into such that it doesn’t cause whiplash for the band members or the existing audience, but sometimes you simply can’t do it that gracefully with some people needing to make such a change immediately. When Bong-Ra made its shift two years ago, that was something that those already aware of the name were not expecting with it also bringing in all sorts of new listeners, myself included. One might have expected such a change to be seen as a one-off, but it’s now that Bong-Ra makes it clear that such a change is here to stay with this new effort nothing short of a glorious continuation.

After decades of being known as a force to be reckoned with in the world of harsh electronic music, I’m sure that the wild change to the world of experimental doom was something that rattled the brains of many, and even those of us who weren’t aware of Bong-Ra beforehand found ourselves dazzled by what the name brought forth with “Antediluvian” two years ago. Piecing together free jazz, electronics, and doom metal in a captivating and unyielding sound driven by a deep sense of experimentation, Bong-Ra already achieved greatness on that effort, but it’s in every form that the name has upped the ante in every possible factor with “Meditations” without compromisation or cowardice. This is the purest form of what it means to take the very concept of metal and stretch it into something that is all but impossible to experience wholly in one or even two listens as you simply must surrender yourself to all that the album has to offer if you’re to understand even the smallest shred of what it has to offer in its depths and cavernous reaches. “Meditations” may pose itself as an immense wall and inhospitable realm to those who aren’t vetted by the stranger realms that the world of metal and beyond have to offer, but once your let the vibrations and monolithic presence of Bong-Ra truly take you away to its own dimension where anything and everything is possible then you’ll find yourself in a state of mindless euphoria the likes of which music like this is all but made for. Whether you find yourself in a temple somewhere in the Middle East or under a great tree in one of the last untouched realms on this earth, “Meditations” can take you there in the blink of an eye so long as you give everything you are to Bong-Ra and it’s unending mysticism born out of unfearing experimentation.

The very word “experimental” that many find to be terrifying for the uncertainties and unpredictable nature that comes with it, but for the bold and the curious there is nothing more promising than a band that manages to pull it off in a meaningful way that is nigh on engaging to the right ears. Bong-Ra has already made itself known as a name that is one to keep an eye on with what it achieved a few years ago, but it is with all that they’ve accomplished with the four tracks of “Meditations” that they’ve more than earned our respect and undivided attention from here going forward. The world is truly the band’s oyster with their limitations only in their own mind with the very whistling of the trumpets and echoes of the bass the guiding light that will propel the name forth deeper into the unknown where the very name of Bong-Ra will become known by all with good reason.

“Meditations” releases on August 5th via Tartarus Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Meditations” on Bandcamp here.