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Cult of Fire - An Intimate Album Release Ritual In The Heart Of Old Town Prague, Czech Republic

After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Cult of Fire’s album release show (The original date was scheduled for May), Cult of Fire ceremoniously introduced their latest album, “The One, Who is Made of Smoke,” to their hometown crowd in Prague, Czech Republic. I was one of the lucky patrons that witnessed the ritualistic black metal event and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I left the venue that night looping memories of the show over and over like some sort of black metal glitch in the matrix.

When I arrived at the Lucerna Music Bar in the heart of Old Town Prague, there weren’t a lot of people milling about outside but that was probably because I arrived an hour early. Stateside, it’s normal to show up an hour or so early to meet up with your friends, check out the merch, grab some adult beverages and find a good spot to watch the bands from. Here in Prague, things are much more lax. What I’ve noticed is that if you show up fifteen minutes early, you’ll be OK most of the time. No one is in a hurry here and it’s a welcomed change of pace.

I noticed that there was just one other person at the merch table so I was able to grab a copy of latest album on vinyl without having to wait in line forever. There also wasn’t a mile long line at the bar, so I ordered a pint of Pilsner and then headed to the front of the stage where there were only just a handful of people already there. There was a giant black cloth (think shower curtain) draped across the front of the entire stage, but it was transparent enough to see that there were a lot of stage props behind it. This was definitely going to be an epic night.

While I waited for the cloth to be pulled back, dozens of people had arrived and started to fill in the floor in front of the stage and I was happy that my Stateside concert habits die hard. A little past 8:00 p.m. (Concerts start and end earlier here and I love it!), the curtain was drawn and it revealed an incredibly detailed and jaw dropping stage setup.

Everywhere you looked there were artifacts of Hindu and Buddhist deities, lit candles in candelabras, burning incense, bouquets of flowers and offerings of fruit. I don’t know how long it takes to set something like this up, but it has to be a few hours. The four members of Cult of Fire were already in their respective spots on stage and their costuming was just as impressive. I’ll dive more into that later on.

This is my third time seeing Cult of Fire live and it’s been different each time. The first two times I saw them at Brutal Assault, a popular metal festival that takes place in the Czech Republic every August. The first time I saw them, they used a ton of pyro techniques (think fire!) and the second time, they played along with a full symphonic orchestra. Tonight’s show was intimate making it special in its own way. There was limited floor space in the Lucerna Music Bar and if you were lucky enough to have a ticket, you were treated to a live spectacle that the majority of bands won’t go the distance that Cult of Fire does to treat their fans.

Cult of Fire began tonight's special set with tracks from “The One, Who is Made of Smoke” but there were also some songs from their previous albums. I’m not super versed in their whole albums catalog, but I’ve been listening to their latest release enough to know what songs were from the new album (Which I highly recommend for you to check out by the way).

I think what impressed me the most about Cult of Fire’s live show has to be their stamina to perform in their elaborate and ornate stage costuming, especially the vocalist. The headpiece was more or less the size of a small bus that sat on his shoulders and overlapped and hung onto his upper chest area. The headpiece was mic’d up from the inside and between every song, his breathing was so heavy it sounded like he had just run a 5-kilometer race. You could also see his chest moving underneath the long and thick robe that he was wearing. His arm movements were deliberate and forceful throughout the whole set so I can only imagine how fatiguing it had to be to keep this up for the entire show.

The guitarists that were located on opposite sides of the stage didn’t have it much easier. They were also garbed up in ornate gowns but the difference was that they were seated cross legged on giant King Cobra shaped seats during the entire set. They were seated on what appeared to be comfortable pillows but even with those, sitting there for over an hour has to be incredibly taxing on the leg’s blood circulation! Another thing I want to mention was that neither the vocalist nor the guitarists drank any liquids between songs during the whole set. If it was me, I would have had a paramedic on standby to administer an IV (Intravenous) to the band after the show.

I mentioned in the previous paragraph that the show lasted more or less an hour and a half but it seemed less than that. I moved around often during the set to take photos from different angles and everywhere I stopped, I didn’t notice anyone on their cellphones other than to take their own pictures and/or video. This was a testament on how locked-in the crowd was. They were mesmerized with what they were witnessing as was I.

After the show and already home, while I was downloading my collection of media from the night, I was still replaying the set in my head similar to the first time I saw them live at Brutal Assault in 2023. I’m not too sure what their plans are regarding touring for this album cycle, but this is a must-see band if you’re anywhere near where they’re going to play. Hold off on spending hundreds of dollars on (insert any metal arena band name here) tickets, Cult of Fire’s show will impress you more and will be a lot easier on your wallet.

Check out some video footage from the show below.