32. Cult Of Lilith - 'Mara'

When is a Death Metal album, not a Death Metal album? Well, when it is drenched in as much jazz, Latin influences and classical inspirations as “Mara” is. It is like they looked up a definition of Death Metal on Wikipedia and then decided to complete ignore what it says. They have brought everything to the party (the album opens with a Harpsicord) and Cult Lilith seem hellbent on turning left every time a communal garden Death Metal band would have turned right. Yes, there are guttural growls a plenty, but all the other traditional stalwarts of Death Metal seem to have been meretriciously deconstructed and put back together in a bizarre but rather wonderful construct. Overalls this feels like a marvellous breath of fresh air. It is unafraid to throw traditional structures to the wind and revels in doing something deliciously different.