07. Naraka

[North by North]

Goosebumps on first listen.

Still, after 10+ plays. So fucking good.

[North by North]

incredible tune
currently my favourite on the album although some others come close

Same.

[mechanismj]

Damn! Absolute banger. The way the beat drops in right at the beginning. Sounds so modern and fresh.

Then that 3rd bass note hits. Very Boardsian, slightly off kilter or unexpected, but it works so well.

Then BOOM! Around 35 seconds the classic unmistakable washed out, slightly acidic BoC synth line. That's the sauce! It hits so good! Waited a long time for that fix!

Then, when it couldn't possibly get anymore awesome, they drop in the Hare Krishna chant. They made that fit so well. A delightful, catchy earworm. Possibly among their best ever. Seriously I cannot get it out of my head! It haunts me as I fall asleep. HELP!

[mechanismj]

My least liked BoC song. Bollywood of Canada. Also the first song that I Have ever removed from Apple Music. I also bought the cd but do not plan on playing it(not because of the song)

Nope. Never one to say this but you are wrong. I know you better than you do I am afraid.

This is an awesome song.

You go and think about yourself for a bit you bot and then re-appraise your life

J

Are you calling him a liar?!

[egbdf]

Damn! Absolute banger. The way the beat drops in right at the beginning. Sounds so modern and fresh.

Then that 3rd bass note hits. Very Boardsian, slightly off kilter or unexpected, but it works so well.

Then BOOM! Around 35 seconds the classic unmistakable washed out, slightly acidic BoC synth line. That's the sauce! It hits so good! Waited a long time for that fix!

Then, when it couldn't possibly get anymore awesome, they drop in the Hare Krishna chant. They made that fit so well. A delightful, catchy earworm. Possibly among their best ever. Seriously I cannot get it out of my head! It haunts me as I fall asleep. HELP!

Yeah the synth line coming in at the beginning then later on was one of the most memorable moments of the listening event. It sounded so giant and urgent in the church. Kinda like a siren.

‘Breakdown’ part reminds me of n64 golden eye

[Jango9]

This feels like a direct successor to Come to Dust, melodically and with that beat. But again the melody is so fucking diagonal, it's awesome.

Personally I got more Sick Times than Come To Dust but it's definitely very Tomorrow's Harvest nonetheless!

Then, when it couldn't possibly get anymore awesome, they drop in the Hare Krishna chant. They made that fit so well. A delightful, catchy earworm. Possibly among their best ever. Seriously I cannot get it out of my head! It haunts me as I fall asleep. HELP!

"Open" by King Missile does the same trick to great effect as well, I have to apologize to God whenever I listen to it since they made what's essentially the pledge of allegiance for another religion I don't personally subscribe to so damn catchy lmfao. Maybe that's something BoC are fascinated by as well, the way religions can get you into them by making you groove. If that is the case then they're gonna have a bunch of new recruits at the church of the hexagon sun very soon! This song also reminds me of Steve Tibbetts a lot and that's always a plus in my book, very good stuff.

[audiotrack]

This tune will live with me forever. It has the beat drops of Pete standing. And those Chants. Oh my word.

[TyphonBaalHammon]

I love the track as a piece of music, it's gorgeous and I agree that musically the sample is extremely well used.

That being said, it felt really strange to hear it the first time because the very phrase "Hare Krishna" is deeply associated (in the western world) with the ISKCON cult (better known by that "Hare Krishna" nickname).

Another thing that is relatively weird is having the entire prayer in extenso within the song. This is not a half inaudible brief sample, this is not the half-quoted bedtime prayers of childen we had on "From one source all things depend". This is the entire thing, it's like having the entire Lord's Prayer or the Chahada in a song. I live in a place where there's a big south asian community and it feels a little weird to play this song (I don't think anybody would be offended, but I think someone could be weirded out).

Unlike that Guardian reviewer, I don't think this is "orientalism", nor is it "poking fun at eastern religion" except maybe insofar as the ISKCON cult is considered a part of Hinduism. I think this is a new example of BoC's (or even more specifically Mike's) continuing interest in cults.
Of course the maha mantra Hare Krishna itself is much older than the cult and has been quoted in "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison for example, but to me the cult connection is obvious because cults are such a recurring theme in BoC's music and specifically on Inferno, and because the Hare Krishna cult used to be so visible and so big in popular culture. There are recurring jokes about it in the movie Airplane for example.

Anyway, I really don't know how to interpret it. On the one hand, it doesn't really seem like an endorsement of either the cult or Hinduism (obviously), but on the other hand if it's a critique... where's the critique ? If it's satire, where are the jokes ? And if it's just used for aesthetic purpose, well, it's still a weird effect because the symbolic associations will be there for many people.

Maybe if I listen to it a few more dozen times I will have an epiphany

[Den]

I think it’s important that the chant plays for a longtime because this is how kirtan music works - you sing communally as a form of meditation. Fundamentally, I think they used the Hare Krishna mantra because it’s so musical.

[North by North]

I think it’s important that the chant plays for a longtime because this is how kirtan music works - you sing communally as a form of meditation. Fundamentally, I think they used the Hare Krishna mantra because it’s so musical.

I remember listening to the London party and saying fuck, it’s gonna fade right away. Thankfully so wrong, as you say, so musical, fits absolutely incredibly!

[apriorion]

I mean this comment in the best way possible, but I was transported to the character select screen on Mortal Kombat II when I was a teenager in rural Florida at the arcade. And I fucking loved it, immediately.

This album fucking ROCKS.

[Redd Panderson]

I mean this comment in the best way possible, but I was transported to the character select screen on Mortal Kombat II when I was a teenager in rural Florida at the arcade. And I fucking loved it, immediately.

This album fucking ROCKS.

I am one hundred percent picking up what you're putting down here. I didn't think anything like that, but yeah, some of this put me in this place of "ohh shit we are getting going" in the way I was so rapt by the early music in a video game as a kid, lol. Huh.

[Seat of Consciousness]

Listening to it the first time, when the main synth line came in I went OOOOOO even though I was alone in my apartment. I had already been blown away by every single song before it, so what do you even call the feeling beyond that? Pure sublime, I guess. It's like I was hearing Boards for the first time again: the exact essence of having some tone of theirs strike you perfectly and feeling a full body what-the-fuck. And then the song slips in the Hare Krishna groove like it was always there and will always play for the rest of eternity. On every level this song is astonishing. It's in my head and my soul and it fills my heart with gratitude at the brothers for coming back.

Also, elite move by BoC for not making this the lead single. I think it would have been the obvious choice for being such an addictive jam, but them going with Prophecy made it all the better when Naraka burst onto the album. And I'm actually glad I wasn't able to make it to the listening party because I would have been jonesing all week for more Naraka. Immediately after my first listen of Inferno I popped Naraka back on--I literally couldn't wait to hear it again.

[Seat of Consciousness]

I love the track as a piece of music, it's gorgeous and I agree that musically the sample is extremely well used.

That being said, it felt really strange to hear it the first time because the very phrase "Hare Krishna" is deeply associated (in the western world) with the ISKCON cult (better known by that "Hare Krishna" nickname).

Another thing that is relatively weird is having the entire prayer in extenso within the song. This is not a half inaudible brief sample, this is not the half-quoted bedtime prayers of childen we had on "From one source all things depend". This is the entire thing, it's like having the entire Lord's Prayer or the Chahada in a song. I live in a place where there's a big south asian community and it feels a little weird to play this song (I don't think anybody would be offended, but I think someone could be weirded out).

Unlike that Guardian reviewer, I don't think this is "orientalism", nor is it "poking fun at eastern religion" except maybe insofar as the ISKCON cult is considered a part of Hinduism. I think this is a new example of BoC's (or even more specifically Mike's) continuing interest in cults.
Of course the maha mantra Hare Krishna itself is much older than the cult and has been quoted in "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison for example, but to me the cult connection is obvious because cults are such a recurring theme in BoC's music and specifically on Inferno, and because the Hare Krishna cult used to be so visible and so big in popular culture. There are recurring jokes about it in the movie Airplane for example.

Anyway, I really don't know how to interpret it. On the one hand, it doesn't really seem like an endorsement of either the cult or Hinduism (obviously), but on the other hand if it's a critique... where's the critique ? If it's satire, where are the jokes ? And if it's just used for aesthetic purpose, well, it's still a weird effect because the symbolic associations will be there for many people.

Maybe if I listen to it a few more dozen times I will have an epiphany

In the context of the album, "Naraka" is hell in Hinduism, and it comes before two of the darkest tracks with Acts of Magic and Memory death, so the way I interpret it is that the Hare Krishna singers are hypnotized by their chanting as they're descending into hell, after which they will be reborn in Word Becomes Flesh. I don't think BoC is criticizing Hinduism specifically, but I think one of the overall themes of the album is to beware of being seduced by religious movements, because while they may have their compelling aesthetic aspects, they can lead you down the wrong path.

[mechanismj]

Yeah the synth line coming in at the beginning then later on was one of the most memorable moments of the listening event. It sounded so giant and urgent in the church. Kinda like a siren.

‘Breakdown’ part reminds me of n64 golden eye

Ooh! Good call! I can feel that. Like wandering around the Facility or the Caverns.

This tune will live with me forever. It has the beat drops of Pete standing. And those Chants. Oh my word.

Love em! Reminds me a LOT of Mansel. One of my favorite old tunes.

[DayvanCowboy]

This songs was my instant favorite when I heard it! Still is at the moment.

After hearing about what the new album's name will be "hell, world burning". Then seeing the name Naraka, with Hare Krisna in the chants... I almost saw it as a vision.

Such a strong, clean, beautiful sound production with that hopeful chant, still with bitter sweat melody in the end. I saw our own species on this planet even tho being literally blessed with fresh water, perfect distance from our sun, intelligent enough to have religions (of which almost all of them try to teach the same-ish values of peace and happiness)... and what do we do? Consume, destroy, want more.

Anyway, I was very inspired by it instantly and started off to make a fan video for it. Have to say, it does look around 70% of the same what I see in my head when I listen to it.

https://youtu.be/HPPt0GBwOWE

[ryetronics]

Listened to Naraka on some earbuds last night and heard what sounded like someone franticly typing out numbers on an old digital phone. Deep in the mix. Anyone else?

It's wild how you pick out other details you didn't hear before when you listen on different setups.

[Waterbagel]

My least liked BoC song. Bollywood of Canada. Also the first song that I Have ever removed from Apple Music. I also bought the cd but do not plan on playing it(not because of the song)

Nope. Never one to say this but you are wrong. I know you better than you do I am afraid.

This is an awesome song.

You go and think about yourself for a bit you bot and then re-appraise your life

J

Are you calling him a liar?!

no, i'm not caalllling him a liar!

OKAY! I figured it out. back over here, I blamed my misconception on being stoned. now. that was true. and i did fuck up my notes here because of it

because now that i'm finally giving this another listen (trying to consume this one as slow as i can!!), THIS is the one!! THIS bass line progression matches up with the same intervals as 5.9.78

• 5.9.78:
  • Bb - Ab - Gb
  • runs for pretty much the whole song
• Naraka:
  • starts at 2:40, once the hare krishna chanting comes in (how apt!)
  • a slightly tuned down Ab - Gb - E

same intervals! timing feels similar, too. to me, this track is 5.9.78 having evolved over 30 or 40 years, and that's what i'll tell myself until i die - i quite like the thought!

[Spirit Fingers]

5 days in, every time the choir starts to come in at 3.44 I go to the fucking moon

[lyingtransferred]

love this track, can't stop listening.

For the chanting, so great when that part kicks in too. The chanters are the souls calling out from Naraka, wanting to escape. Unfortunately they're only leaving the one hell.

The album also asks, is there even a next anyway?