Cultus Sabbati was an anonymous

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

trio formed in 2006. The three members, whose identities are unknown even to their labels, began making music as a form of ritual magick after meeting through their other projects. Their music has been called

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

power electronics Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. The first high-power electronic devices were made using mercury-arc valves. In modern systems, the conversion is performed with semiconduct ...

, "occult dub",

dark ambient Dark ambient (referred to as ambient industrial especially in the 1980s) is a genre of post-industrial musicReed, Alexander: ''Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music'', Oxford University Press, 2013, , p. 190 that features an ominous, ...

and they themselves refer to their music as "witchnoise". The band announced their dissolution on their Facebook in 2013. In May 2014 the former members of Cultus Sabbati announced the formation of the group HK8 (pronounced hek ate) and the release of their first album on June 21.

Origins

Thematically Cultus Sabbati's albums draw from ideas of cunning craft, traditional

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. Their work tends to draw from literary pieces as well as from occult ideas. Descent into the Maelstrom takes its name from the story by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

of the same name. Garden of Forking Ways takes its name from the ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

'' comic by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

. While little is known of the personnel the band states that it is a trio with its members using the names "Malak Taus" (vocals), "Malak Azrael" (electronics) and "Malek Israfel" (guitars). In interviews on

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

and

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

the band states that it performs its music ritually inside of a circle with its musical equipment and recording devices inside the ritual circle and the amplifiers outside. The band claims to have met while touring in other projects at festivals. The name Cultus Sabbati translates from the Latin to "worshipper of the sabbath." Yet the band apparently draws its name from a group of witches founded by the late occultist

Andrew Chumbley Andrew D. Chumbley (15 September 1967 – 15 September 2004) was an English practitioner and theorist of magic, and a writer, poet and artist. He was Magister of the UK-based magical group Cultus Sabbati. Career Chumbley published several limited ...

Location

Brandon Stousy of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

quotes the band as saying they "try to avoid locations" although Stousy claims in the same article that they reside in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Various blogs have claimed

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other countries of origin, though none are confirmed.

Discography

Albums

* The Auraeon - 2008 (self released) * The Garden of Forking Ways - 2010 (Rococo Records) * Descent into the Maelstrom - 2011 (Land of Decay/Buh Records) * The Hagiography of Baba Yaga - 2012 (Land of Decay) * Asgardsreia - 2012 (Pitchfork)

EPs

* Modraniht - 2011 * Woden's Galder - 2010

Video

* Beyond the Walls of Layla (35min video EP) - 2012 * The Serpent Hewn - 2011 * Mouth of the Beast (directed by Shazzula) - 2011 * Descent into the Maelstrom - 2010 * Garden of Forking Ways (Shining Edit) - 2009 * Garden of Forking Ways - 2009 * Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinéad O'Connor cover) 2008 * Defiled Opposer - 2008

References

External links

* {{usurped,
Official website
} Noise musical groups Black metal musical groups Dark ambient music groups