Does the world exist the way we perceive it or do we simplify things for the sake of our sanity. When two people communicate, be it with words or music, they do not use a shared language, but interpret what the other says according to their particular syntax. So the question of what the other person means can only be addressed by using our own system and style of interpretation. A piece of music can be interpreted in many ways. Each listener has his or her own point of reference from which to begin contemplation. Perception changes with each listen. There are many valid perspectives. Everyone’s experiences of reality are real and each is colored by previous experience. Om is a gestalt, something like a pattern that holds together as a whole, that makes a kind of unified sense, more than just the parts of experience. The parts are more than the whole because the parts add layers upon layers of understanding. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. This album has so many moods and textures swirling around that combine in amazing ways to lead you on your journey that it is difficult to absorb the atmosphere on first listen. The more you listen the more you hear, the more you hear the more you want to listen. Each note, each scream or roar, the majestic horns, the oppressively harsh guitars, or the ornate drumming, all adds to the impact that is Om.

Norwegian philosopher and mountaineer Arne Naess described the journey to spiritual enlightenment and a greater understanding of your personal oneness with nature, which he called Ecosophy. He referred to rethinking with closer attention, going deeper. There is shallow thinking and there is deep thinking. Shallow is superficial, deep is reconstructing your worldview. Deep thinking is long range. The nature-based spirituality of Negura Bunget is deep thinking. In terms of black metal, shallow would be Christian Satanism, deeper would be occult, then paganism, and truly deep thinking would be the spiritual transcendence of the dense fog of the forest of the high mountains of Romania. Black metal is more than a musical style, it is a worldview. Some bands are still wading in the shallow end of the pool some thirty years later, while others are treading water while learning to swim. A pioneering few are diving in the deep end.

Based upon the last album, Om was the most highly anticipated release of the year for me. I had very high expectations for this disc, which is usually a recipe for disappointment.  Inarborat Kosmos did more than whet my appetite, it reaffirmed my expectations were legitimate. If you do not think this is the album of the year, cut your flesh and worship Satan until you realize the truth. Om is a true equivalent.

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