Album review: Rubedo by Shuulak.

“SHUULAK tells tales of alchemy, the occult and man’s desire to doom itself; all delivered in an energetic live show. “

SHUULAK is a Dutch Metal band whose otherworldly songs explore man’s obsession with things that would only destroy him. Unfettered by trends and uncompromising in its pursuit of excellence; their music stands as a testament to the undying power of heavy metal.

In 2014 a friendship formed during previous musical collaborations lays the foundation for what’s to be SHUULAK. A shared, deep-rooted interest in alchemy and the occult provides fertile ground for inspiration.

Constantly challenging themselves, the bands members hone their craft. Either refining or discarding what holds them back, nothing is deemed sacred in making their vision a reality. Drawing from experience, the band does its own recording, photography, video editing and visual design.

2017 sees the bands debut release: ‘Nigredo’ (EP). It is the first installment of a tetralogy,
which tells of alchemical enlightenment. It is followed up with ‘Albedo’ (MCD, 2018), ‘Citrinitas’ (EP, 2019) and finally ‘Rubedo’ (EP, 2020).

Its songs tell of the alchemists’ path to enlightenment and the myriad ways desires for greatness inevitably end in madness and depravity.

Their last EP: Rubedo, starts off with a fiery guitar-riff, immediately followed by a straight forward beat. When the vocals join in, it is brought with so much power that causes that you will definitely start head-banging right from the start.

there is a good mix of tempo into the very first part of the album. Somewhere just over the middle of the first song, the music transforms into a softer and more intense part in which you can take a breath and start reflecting the things you have so far in your life. It won’t take long of course, cause the song will end with a masterpiece of music in which you’ll certainly shall start head-banging again into every possible direction.

When you have never heard the band’s music before, you’ll probably had expected different musical influences, bu the opposite is true. It’s a great album worth listening to when you need to distract you mind for a while. That is all because of the great and powerful musical parts that are the ingredients of this masterpiece.

The album only counts five songs, but don’t let this number disappoint you. All five of these songs have their own unique story to tell and combined with each other, they make this album a worthy creation.

The end of the album then also caries a unique and beautiful part of the setlist with it. It’s a perfect ending in which you can be able to let your mind go for a moment, maybe stay on another planet in your thoughts, and let everything go to make place in your head for new ideas. It’s a brilliant piece of work.

Tracklist: