LEILA ABDUL-RAUF - Andros Insidium

Despite Leila Abdul-Rauf having released several albums starting in 2013 (the year "Cold And Cloud" came out), her name has never quite broken through within the club of the latest generation of gothic priestesses. A career that has taken several paths, both in the past (her collaborations with Amber Asylum) and in the present (the multi-instrumentalist is the voice and guitar of Vastum, a Californian death-metal band), while awaiting a consecration that may not be too far off.

"Andros Insidium" is a deeply personal record, a work inspired by the Sumerian myth of the goddess Inanna-Ishtar and her journey to and from the underworld (where she is killed by the goddess Ereshkigal, before being resurrected). A journey that digs into the psyche, showing us a protagonist who is wild, brutal, powerful, yet at the same time vulnerable. A kind of divine invocation for the restoration of a feminine integrity undermined by the patriarchal system.

The musical coordinates, meanwhile, remain tied to neoclassical-leaning darkwave: the starting point is undoubtedly Dead Can Dance (for the arcane spirit and mythological references), as heard on the remarkable "Eros Anima", the darkest and most tribal side of Leila Abdul-Rauf. This journey through Mesopotamian culture finds another key passage in "Fractured Body", a menacing ritual that sounds like an invitation to sacrifice.

But to reach the highest peak of "Andros Insidium", one must inevitably pass through the title track, a piece in which the American musician experiments with a sound much closer to the gothic-experimental visions of Lingua Ignota or Diamanda Galas (the piano notes, the use of screaming and the at times unsettling mood make the track far superior to the album's average).

Leila Abdul-Rauf has returned with a solid effort that still lacks that spark capable of making it stand out from much of what has come before. It's also a matter of details (the album cover exudes a metal background that feels out of place here), beyond a truly intriguing concept that sounds very much like a definitive liberation for the artist in question.

"Andros Insidium" thus becomes a new starting point, this time sturdier and more concrete, on which to build further sonic architectures with greater courage and personality.

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25/04/2026