In Hindu philosophy, Advaita is a system of thought where the denial of dualism relates to the identity of the Self and the Whole. If you recognize this identity, then you can be liberated. Attaining this liberation takes a lot of preparation and training under the guidance of the guru. With “Advatic Songs” Om are attempting to set the listener free, through 44 minutes of spiritual music and Al Cisneros is taking the role of this guru. The new album has many common things with “Pilgrimage” and “God Is Good” with the mystic way of composition, but in “Advaitic Songs” this mysticism goes even further with the usage of eastern string instruments, violin and cymbals. It is more like experimental stoner music, even more experimental than “Pilgrimage” and “God Is Good”, but without changing completely the band’s style. Just push the play button and prepare for your mental quest.

Even if I prefer listening Om accompanied with a joint, “Advaitic Songs” has the same results without weed, too. “Addis” consists as an intro of the new album. With this prayer to Shiva, with the cello additions and all these percussion, feels like someone enters some kind of temple and scenes of monks or gurus are coming in the form of illusions. “State Of Non-Return” was released on the net, a little bit before the record’s release. More or less it described the new album’s style, less doom metal and much more spiritualistic. In “Advaitic Songs” we have the first active participation of Robert Lowe, who was usually a live member of Om, and he took over the percussions as they are at the beginning of “State Of Non-Return”. This song has the known Om characteristics, Al’s droned bass lines and Emil’s absolutely rhythmic drumming, but the usage of cello and the violin at the end creates that atmosphere of “Advaitic Songs”, as I described it above. After the traveler reached the stream, “Gethsemane” comes as the peak of “Advaitic Songs”. Al’s vocals are vibrating somehow the listener, the drumming has sudden tempo changes and all of these under the veil of the cello’s austere music.

Next level in this advaitic meditation is “Sinai” where the Muslim prayer turns into a stoner blitz, with droned bass, blasting and alternating drumming (maybe the best drum composition in the band’s discography) and all of the new innovative stuff of “Advaitc Songs”, just to stone even more the listener, before the arrival of “Haqq Al-Yaqin”, which finishes this psychic rove in the unseen paths in the inner self. “Haqq Al-Yaqin” as the title reveals has a lot of eastern attitude with percussion instruments, the chants of Al Cisneros and the main role of cello that replaces the bass. And I think that “Haqq Al-Yaqin” gathers all this experimental stoner music of “Advaitic Songs”. But trust me, it’s still beautiful, even if it isn’t a usual stoner track, and Om succeeded this.

The band did it again. They recorded an album that gathers the spirituality of four different religions and served it to the crowd. And the most successful think is that it doesn’t need any hallucinogens to enjoy its music. The preparation and the training are completed and the person can be free.