MEGALITH LEVITATION Stoke Flames of Doom on New LP ‘Obscure Fire’

When we last checked in with the hooded cadre from the Ural Mountains of Chelyabinsk Oblast, MEGALITH LEVITATION had just revealed their collection of Void Psalms (one of Doomed & Stoned’s Heavy Best of 2021, reviewed here). Now two years hence, the mysterious cult speak once again.

Their third full-length is called ‘Obscure Fire’ (2023). My closest stream of consciousness is an archaic reference to “strange fire” in the Old Testament. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.” Whether these songs lay claim to the profane offering of Leviticus 10:1 we may never know, but what is certain is their dark, powerful, hypnotic atmosphere.

The album begins and ends in flames. Strange dissonant guitar strains emerge from opening track “Obscure Fire.” It’s a bit jarring at first, but we’re quickly captured under its spell. Drums and bass join in a dirge, and cultic voices bellow while the solemn ritual proceeds, complete with the swaying hands of acolytes and damning riffage.

With spiral flames I will
Create new world of illusions
And ancient mysteries
Will rise from diamond tombs

This bleeds into the anodyne strumming “Of Silence.” The song’s central riff surfaces four minutes in and worshipful voices consort. The heartbeat quickens at the seven-minute mark and things start to feel deadly amidst unsettling tremeloes and pulsating rhythm. By the end of the song, we’re lost in the throes of sweet delirium.

“Descending” bathes us in a swirl of ancient fuzz, as we enter the passageway connecting Side A to Side B. The theme is laid out in painstaking fashion, while priests cantillate in darkness around a cauldron of spite. It’s as if we’re gradually being slowly lowered into a great well as voices echo above and beneath the pit.

As we enter “In The Depths” we enter a clandestine chapel far, far underground, lit with candles and an odd glowing ember in the center, a place of arcane magick. A Cathedralesque tempo dances us closer and closer to the flames. Around four-minutes, the band shifts into slow headbanging mode with an undeniable riff and mesmerizing chanting.

The final number carries on in purposeful stride, whilst guitars wail in a way most fitting for “Eternal Doom.” Phlegmatic voices intone and we are once again in a trance. Seven-and-a-half minutes in, the mood suddenly changes with new cries of pain and ecstasy revealing a mystical second theme. We encounter the trio in plainchant one more time, taking us to finish with narcotic haze.

Obscure Fire by Megalith Levitation releases March 31st, with an impressive CD package put together by the Aesthetic Death label (pre-order here) and artwork by godlikeikons, who did the covers for Doomed & Stoned in Russia I & II. Stick these songs on a playlist with Ufomammut, Bomg, Dirge, Ethereal Riffian, and Saturnalia Temple.

Give ear…