Album Review: Nibiru – Salbrox (Ritual Productions)

Grim psych alchemists Nibiru have revealed a new rite – their first for their new label Ritual Productions – due for release on May 10th 2019.

Titled Salbrox, meaning ‘Sulfur’ in the Enochian language of which the band profess, the rite is a cataclysmic psychic journey of visionary magick, elemental prophecies and esoteric supernormality. Tribal percussion, evocative mantras and hypnotic drones imbued with the band’s amalgamation of black metal, doom metal and psychedelic textures formulates a fascinating, idiosyncratic art. Vocals harbour a possessed and rasping quality that surely summon spectres far beyond our comprehensible realm, bringing forth a divination of the self.

Conceptually and spiritually, Salbrox is inspired by the continuous re-adjustment between disharmony and balance. Salbrox aims, via mysterious and enigmatic practices that reflect an ouroboros quality of death and rebirth, to explore the transmutation and regeneration of the human being that occurs at every level – spirit, soul and corporeality.

Delivering a hypnotic and horrifying tome, Nibiru’s Salbrox requires certain things from you before you listen. It’s simple really. Turn the lights out, close the curtains/blinds, shut everything off and put a pair of headphones on. Lose yourself in this incredible, haunting and somewhat painful album. It is less of musical experience and more about a slow march to death. It’s the soundtrack to places eyes should ever want to see and ears should never want to hear. However, once you start on the path there is no turning back,

The heartbeat of EHNB, an opener that comes up slightly short of 15 minutes, will be enough for most to make up their mind about this album. Love the horror-fuelled nosies? The drone of effects, the tortured vocals? Then carry on. The rest of you…go listen to something where the light shines because this is all about darkness.

This is not an album where you praise the riffs or the solos etc. This is not that kind of album. Instead it’s all about weight, the weight of blackened doom pushing down upon the mind. Heaviness unlike anything heard this year, EXARP is gloriously evil while HCOMA unsettles the mind with its effects. Both incredible listens in their own right.

The nearest we get to ‘traditional’ doom is with NANTA but even that has sharp screeches of guitar to keep things very unbalanced. It’s followed by ABALPT, a ritual of sorts with creaking spoken word chants and the shortest track, BITOM (4 minutes), a moment of peace but one layered with an underlying threat. Simple piano keys with the sound of birds in the background, it is surprisingly sombre and beautiful.

All to set up the enormous finale of RZIORN. The threat mentioned in the previous coming to fruition here. Heavier than heavy, a final crushing blow of twisted evil to leave most spinning in the wind begging for release.

Nibiru – Salbrox Full Track Listing:

1. ENHB
2. EXARP
3. HCOMA
4. NANTA
5. ABALPT
6. BITOM
7. RZIORN

Head over to Ritual Productions to find out more and order the album.