The digital age certainly has its advantages. While there has always been something irreplaceable about discovering a new band through nothing but word of mouth, stumbling upon a new name in the vast underground scene just by scouring places like Bandcamp is no less than euphoric in my experience. It’s not terribly often that I find something well and truly unknown for one reason or another given that there’s usually someone who has beaten me to the punch, but tonight possibly marks the first time in years that I think I’ve well and truly fumbled across something that only what seems to be an incredibly lucky few have heard. Quite frankly, the fact that no one has been talking about Rites of Tara, no matter how obscure the act is, rides along the very definition of criminal.

Out of the very gate, everything about this small piece is unassuming without hearing so much as a single note. From the cover art to the very fact that the Bandcamp page for Rites of Tara itself is the only place I can find the band in any online form, the three tracks of “To the Otherworld of Silver” are unassuming at best on a blind listen. Yet, I cannot express enough just how much Rites of Tara defies expectations. This is a ferocious approach to black metal that is built around an intense core of melody around which everything revolves with the surprising choice of an instrument that sounds like a lute (I’m sure it’s not anywhere close to a lute, but that’s the best I can do by ear (I would love to know what the exact instrument is)) really bringing offering a whole new dimension to the already exceptional black metal that’s on display for the whole of the EP. The melodies and the power draw you right in like a massive whirlwind whose power feels downright divine in its magnitude. For each track that Rites of Tara goes through, the spirits of the ancient realms seem to dance wildly out of caves, through flames, and over water to join in the rituals of “To the Otherworld of Silver” where reality is left behind for a transcendent plane of existence that only a few seem fit to journey to. Along with all the tracks seeming to flow into one another to really make this debut a cohesive experience divided into its four distinct acts, Rites of Tara always manages to keep you enthralled no matter what. Be it through the meatiest of hooks, an impeccable sense of scale for the intensity of the work, or truly tantalizing black metal, “To the Otherworld of Silver” is a creation of the underground that is as sweet as they come.

For the whole of the nearly ten-year run that I’ve been doing these reviews, I have gone out of my way numerous times to say how I will be keeping a sharp eye on bands as the years stack. Never before have I meant that more than right now with Rites of Tara. If everything that’s been brought forth with “To the Otherworld of Silver” is indicative of what’s possibly still to come from Rites of Tara, you can bet that I will have both of my eyes set firmly on the act to the point where I want to know when the musician behind it so much as sneezes. There are hundreds upon thousands of names out there that are worthy of being watched, yet I’m making a point to make Rites of Tara a high priority target from here on out.

LISTEN to “To the Otherworld of Silver” on Bandcamp here.

Rites of Tara has no presence outside Bandcamp that I could find, so if you want to stay up-to-date on any potential future material from the act then follow Rites of Tara on Bandcamp here.