There was a remote time when the gods walked among men, a mythical era that ended up being corrupted until the dark age took over everything ... according to the old Hindu scriptures, the last avatar will come to free us from kaliyuga, the era without dharma ...

Faced with the blind faith in the end-time messiah and the isolated physical and spiritual retreat in a crystal palace, a path of the left hand arises within this entropy, an active spiritual and warrior path, where the tiger can ride, avoiding being eaten while waiting for fatigue to run...

The wisdom tradition invites you to radically immerse yourself in life, in your life, assume it, accept it, confront it, become aware, forge yourself and learn from it, without fear, enter its multiple scenarios, integrate all those disparate and opposing experiences, that burn in your interior, teachings that help you to be your own avatar, the light in the darkness... an invitation to admire the greatness, splendor and magic that surround your own existence, to live in truth and freedom, that makes you transcend by overcoming your own difficulties and miseries.

Tibetan Buddhism brings us closer to the god Mahakala, an internal, compassionate warrior, the protector of the dharma, the secret doctrines, the wisdom and the lineage, that ancient demon whose head adorns with his five poisons or klesahas that he transmuted into five wisdoms, an angry and wrathful divinity capable of bringing light into darkness, as a symbol of struggle that awakens pure energy and unyielding strength to overcome and dissolve the obstacles and negativities that impede the spiritual path.

"God is in the center, all roads lead to Him."

"Tradition is not a childish and outmoded mythology but a science that is terribly real"

The thinker, philosopher and poet Frithjof Schuon, promoter of the Sophia Perennis —influenced by the work of René Guenón—, and philosopher of the metaphysical current of Shankara and Plato, scholar of Christianity, Islam and Sufism, advocated the "Unity Transcendent of Religions" (above the devotional, totemic, animist, shamanic, telluric or lunar religions of a matrix nature where the possibility of Awakening to the Supersensible Reality or to the Supreme Principle that is found at the origin of the Cosmos is not conceived) as an antidote to modern nihilism.

Tradition, understanding this not as folklore or customs but as a reflection on the physical plane of the Transcendent reality, as a bridge between heaven and earth. Thus, man is not shielded before transcendence, he can come to see the light and update that transcendent seed within himself. An initiatory path of the hero to update the spirit that we carry in potential to conquer eternity, transmuting us into unconditioned sacred warriors of the world of becoming.

Let us think of Rome and its solar spirituality, of the Greek Dorians of Apollonian worship, that lineage that founded Sparta, of the Celtiberians with their warrior brotherhoods and the mors triunphalis, of the ascetic warrior cavalry of the High Middle Ages, of the Arthurian cycle, the Temple , the Holy Roman Empire, Taoism, Tantrism, the Vedas, the samurai and Zen Buddhism… where Tradition was very much alive…

That traditional world that also considered that the forces of nature were alive, they had a soul. Nature and the universe was someone. There was a sacral interpretation of virgin nature. From the Plains Indians —Schuon "saw something of the nobility and majesty of the Primordial tradition"—, the Celts, the Slavs, the Germans, classical Greece or ancient China.

Thus, there are clues in the world of Tradition to enliven the Sophia Perennis and face the darkness of the modern world or kali-yuga. The world of Tradition as an antidote to the Modern world.

Our tribute to all those bands that in the mid and late 90s created an autochthonous genre, "Celtiberian Black Metal". Distancing themselves from Viking metal, those groups permeated the national scene with their own identity based on the beliefs of the native peoples of ancient Iberia, their lyrics bring us closer to Celtiberian mythology, legends, heroes, gods, epics, nature, customs, rites, Iberian landscapes and the paganism of our pre-Roman culture.

Influenced by Norwegian and Polish black bands, the "barbarians" Nazgul was born in Madrid back in 1995 by the hand of its founder Defernos and the guitarist Thorgul, an emblematic reference band that defined the concept and was one of the germs of the later bands of "Celtiberian Pagan Metal".

In parallel, the Cantabrian Erun Dagoth creates a melodic and epic Death / Black musical project with Celtic Folk elements called CrystalMoors, whose themes breathe history - the Cantabrian wars for example -, mythology and nature of Cantabria - over time and outside the ranks of Crystalmoors, Erun creates a very interesting solo project called Briargh, straddling epic fantasy, paganism and Celticism. In 2018 they joined forces with the Hordak band - we who do not come from the BM, but from the power of Manowar, Running Wild, Blind Guardian or Helloween, we have discovered them with "Father" and they have conquered us! - to create the split "Árguma / Ophiusa ". Within this cultural paganism they have shared stages with bands of neofolk and dark folk roots, whose compositions sink in ancestral folklore and the magical beliefs of the Iberian peoples, such as Keltika Hispanna whose Black / Death influences are appreciated for example in their album "Terror Romanorvm ".

In this CBM tour we have come across hundreds of bands that have dealt with pre-Christian Iberian autochthonous cultures such as Aiumeen Basoa (1994), Numen (1997), Lux Divina (1998), Berserk (1998), Nakkiga (1999), Cyhiriaeth (2000), Omendark (2001), Carcharoth (2002) or Forestdome (2002).

Therefore, this small design is used almost in crude, to remember this genre and those bands that have raised and carried the flame of the spirit of the pre-Roman peoples of Iberia.

In 1212 three kings put aside their differences and, shoulder to shoulder, galloped and charged in the Navas de Tolosa against the Almohad army of Miramamolín Al Nasir that was determined to reconquer Spain and reach Rome itself.

Horsemen, cavalry, council militias, military orders, Templars, Calatravos, Santiaguistas, volunteers, gentle men ready to fight the half moon. The confrontation was cruel. Terrible scenarios with metal ripping and tearing ...

When it seemed that all was lost for Christians, the banner of the three wolves was raised...

It is Lopez de Haro who, together with his son and his Castilian knights and innkeepers, set out at the head of the vanguard determined to immolate themselves. King Alfonso VIII of Castile, who looks at it excitedly, launches the attack shouting "Here, Bishop, we all die." Pedro II of Aragon and Sancho VII of Navarra followed him ...

The epic and the enthusiasm seizes everyone and it is that the three kings ride and charge just through the hills of the Navas de Tolosa de Sierra Morena...

Bringing in the work of Robert E. Howard was almost a must here at Culters. Heroic Fantasy and Conan has accompanied us since we were children, at home we devoured, in addition to the adult comics of Totem and Cimoc, the super conan and their wild sword. The cimero barbarian, that rogue-air hero who took on Lovecraftian creatures, demonic armies and sorcerers, had us completely overshadowed. Today we are especially interested in how much of ancient cultures there is built in all that Hyborio universe - which emerged after the sinking of Atlantis - of his stories. Serve this "Conan in heroic times. The Era of Hiboria" as a tribute and reminiscence of all that.

Landscapes of shady lands, winds from the north, peaks and hills surrounded by lush forests populated by tribes and warriors fighting in neighboring countries that take us to a lost era before the Neolithic. In those places we see European barbarians similar to the Celts, Goths, Vikings, Vandals, Cossacks, Tatars ... Druids, mercenaries, invaders, thieves, pirates, sailors, adventurers, savages, kings, civilizations, regions, mountains, jungle and desert, distant places and mythical, mysticism and Nordic beliefs, medieval culture ...

We find a perfectly recognizable cosmos, from north to south, from the West to the Far East, emerged after the decline of the precataclysmic civilizations - dominated by the kingdoms of Kamelia, Valusia, Verulia, Grondar, Thule and Commoria -, after wars, migrations and crossbreeds. Different places populated by the most varied races of the Hyboria era. Here are some interpretations:

Zingara —located on the Iberian peninsula, land of knighthood, chivalry, nobility and conspiracies, you travel through Celtiberian Spain but also Imperial Spain in other passages—, Vanaheim —Nordic town with red hair whose name comes from the Scandinavian god Vanir—, Asgard —Norse inhabitants with blond hair whose name comes from the Scandinavian god Aesir—, Nordheim —constituted by Vanaheim and Asgard, is a snow-covered Norse territory inhabited by peoples similar to Germans and Vikings—, Hyperborea —whose name evokes the mythical land of mythology. Greek, inhabitants of Norse culture that shows similarities with the Finns, Varangians and Russians—, Cimmeria —the land of Conan, the Cimmerians are the ancestors of the Celts, Gauls and Scythians—, Aquilonia —one of the most powerful, cultural and militarily, led by Conan, located perhaps in France, Great Britain or Italy - Argos and Nemedia - along with Aquilonia arose after the collapse of the Acheron Empire by the invasions barbarian ions (similarity to the Roman Empire) -, the Pictish lands - the tattooed Pictish inhabitants of northern Britain, with similarities to Native Americans versus European settlers or perhaps indigenous peoples versus Roman invasions of Britani -, Brithunia - similar to Roman Britain—, the Empire of Acheron —whose name was brought from the Greek mythology of Acheron, one of the rivers of Hades—, Zamora —browned and dark-eyed, semi-made people who recall the inhabitants of Ancient Palestine. , an exotic town of dances and initiation rites—, Stygia —a territory whose inhabitants are versed in magic and secret arcana, worshipers of Set, the Egyptian god—, Shem —Semitic references, resembling Arabia, Palestine, the Middle East, deserts with nomads and city-states, people from whom Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, Canaanites ... descended, protectorate of Styigia, like Palestine with respect to Egypt, Khitai - think of traditional China - Yamatai - a fantastic and stereotypical Japan—, Ophir —a desert kingdom similar to Arabic, a reference to the biblical region Ofir, perhaps referring to Africa or India, famous for its gold—, Black Kingdoms —primitive African natives—, Corinthia —populated by navigators and philosopher, similar to the land of the ancient Greeks—…

When we enter the extraordinary history of Ancient Rome we come across its legions, its conquests, its epic battles, its emperors and its Immense Empire, its founding myths and its gods, the principle of citizenship, the law, the senate and the Roman people (SPQR), but we also find stories of persecutions, of slave traders for the Mare Nostrum, of prisoners of war and gladiators who fought heroically in the arena of the Colosseum to conquer their freedom —Many of them, of course, confronted in the amphitheatres attracted by the search for recognition, fame and glory.

The famous Warrior Vessel was found in Numantia and represents a combat between two Numantine warriors. In the image we see the duel with helmet, caetra, sword and spear. It is one of the few graphic representations of the 1st century Celtiberian panoplies.

Cancel culture is the withdrawal of support, be it moral, financial, digital, and even social, from those people or organizations that are deemed inadmissible for their comments and actions. Those, those or "those" who transgress the new established order. The perfectly orchestrated trolls and bots to boycott and stigmatize the heretic. Everything fits here, we have all seen the virtual lynchings of those who criticize the system, who do not adhere to any side, and are tightly controlled by the thought police. Artists, writers, rockers, metalheads, famous freethinkers who use "non-inclusive" language and have been defenestrated and burned in those public bonfires. It is the new modern inquisition that limits freedoms and censors all dissidence.

Through newspeak —what is language but the soul of peoples transmitted from generation to generation! We think through it and it guides our behavior—a new change in mentality, another step towards cultural hegemony, a new victory to surrender to this modernity. That revisionism and that political correctness that subjects masters like Tolkien or Lovecraft, to comics like Tintin, Conan, the classics and popular tales and a very long etcetera...

Allow us the outburst and exaggeration, but we believe they will end the great works and authors of Literature. The rich language provided by the geniuses —such as Quevedo, Lope, Calderón or Cervantes— of our Golden Age, full of beauty and greatness, as well as comedy, satire and scathing baroque insults, will soon be persecuted and we will have to apologize because these soldier poets, eager for a spirit of adventure and militia, were born in our bull's skin. The century of arms and letters will be cancelled, its virtues and its universal themes of truth, honor, love, spirit, courage, heroism, chivalry or country will be reduced to ashes in this "reversal" of the politically correct.

It is time to kill the dragon, it is time to tame the ego within us, but also to overthrow all kinds of tyrants, with their new faces and new appearances. Those new gods of modern societies, who try to take away our humanity, don't you see the effects of the crazy technology that has already usurped it from us?

We must not ignore the teachers of Tradition or Tolkien himself - who pointed out in his work the threats of machines and industrial hell against the natural environment, where technology was used by the forces of evil -, who put the emphasis on depersonalization and separation of man from nature as some of the evils of the modern world. It's time to slay this new dragon! In the words of Ronnie James Dio, the magical hard-rock voice of epic and heroic fantasy, it is time to put an end to “electronic serfdom”…

“Silence - we hunt for the queen

Sign of the cross

And pray in-between 

Look by the light of the day

She's hiding till dark

Waiting to play hey-hey

Something's taken a child

And it all must end

Time to be killing the dragon again

Silence - we'll hunt for the lord

He takes crimson and gold

Gave ice to the cold

Oh to be never afraid

Of wolves at the door

Howling for more

More's been empty for years

And it all must end

Time to be killing the dragon again

Kneel and behold your new king

Digital dreams

And wonderful things to tease you

Small gods with electrical hearts

And it all will end

Time to be killing the dragon” 

[Killing the Dragon - Dio]

Here is a vulgar but "honorable" gesture of defiance in the face of the barbarism of our time, obviously it is not an oath pose but without a doubt if our good gentleman with his hand on his chest from the Golden Age raised his head he would certainly raise his middle finger with a clenched fist.

Formerly the use of the comb simulated and was linked to the male phallus and its magical power to ward off the evil eye, a kind of phallic amulet against curses.

However, its practice as an obscene gesture comes from Roman times when Caligula offered his hand to his effeminate tribune to be kissed, the delirious and depraved emperor threw his finger in that position to humiliate his subjects.

As a direct insult we must go back to the Hundred Years War that faced the kingdoms of England and France when the French cut off the middle finger of all British archers, who, demoralized, were prevented from using their powerful bow. As the war favored the English, they showed them their middle finger to challenge and mock them.

We leave it to your imagination who to direct such an effective and ancient posture ...

“Nature is alive and populated with invisible _ intelligent forces and beings. Some humans seek their contact and they want it too, but first we must learn to know them..."

 Jesús Callejo

CULEBRE

Rural dragon or deadly winged serpent located in Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia, north of León and Palencia. This giant beast with a powerful jaw and forked tongue inhabits mountain caves, cliffs, rocky outcrops and caves. She is a guardian of treasures, the terror of villagers and shepherds, and devourer of maidens.

NUBEIRO

He is the lord of atmospheric phenomena, of rain, storms, hail... They are ruthless and mischievous beings with bushy beards and aged faces. He wears dark clothes and a wide-brimmed hat, lives in the clouds or travels in them and has fun controlling the weather and causing all kinds of damage to the crops. It is usually accompanied by wolves or ravens and is present in Asturian, Cantabrian, Galician and northern León mythology.

BUSGOSU

A kind of faun from Asturian mythology, half goat, half man, seems to have its origin in some entity of the Celtic pantheon. He is the lord and guardian of the forest and everything that lives in it, he helps and cares for the lost shepherds by showing them the way back, but at the same time he is a cruel and deadly enemy to anyone who dares to harm the forest. In addition, this genius of nature has an exacerbated and voracious sexual appetite, even kidnapping beautiful women to satisfy his desires.

XANA

The xanas or fairies of the waters are spirits of nature in the form of beautiful women and long golden hair. This species of nymphs inhabits caves, fountains and the banks of watercourses. There are enchanted ones or owners of treasures and xanas that steal children. They are collected in Asturian and Leonese mythology.

OJANCANO

The one-eyed giant of Cantabrian mythology. The vengeful destroyer of the mountains that terrifies every living thing. His strength is enormous. He personifies hatred, anger and cruelty, he is the embodiment of the wild, the untamed and evil. This terrible ogre lives in the deep and gloomy caves of the most remote places of the mountain.

GOBLIN

He is a leprechaun from Leonese, Asturian, Galician and Cantabrian mythologies. It is known as the “gorru colorau” due to its characteristic red beaked cap, it is small in size, and has a playful and mischievous character. They are very mocking and sometimes malevolent. They make objects disappear, change their places and entangle everything they can if they enter your house.

To approach the Tolkien universe on the anniversary of his death is, in addition to remembering his life and his original work, to approach the myth, his ancestral conception, his values and his wisdom. To travel through Middle-earth with its dragons, hobbits, dwarves, elves, giants, wizards, ents, demons, skin-shifters, orcs, uruk-hais, nazguls, men... through its amazing landscapes, kingdoms and places, and to be left alone with the epic episodes and battles against the diabolic hosts of the dark lord Sauron would be to miss his spiritual teachings.

Through the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings or the Unfinished Stories we can learn from the magical and ancestral wisdom of the great wizards or sacred sages, observe and teach us against corruption, degeneration, weakness, envy, the mastery and ambition that will lead to a scenario of struggle between good and evil, as well as contemplating with hope the incarnation, love, friendship and dedication of archetypal characters with heroic vocation such as Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo or Aragorn who will give us life lessons.

[Interpretation of Tolkien's original drawing]

In 1212 three kings put aside their differences and, shoulder to shoulder, galloped and charged in the Navas de Tolosa against the Almohad army of Miramamolín Al Nasir that was determined to reconquer Spain and reach Rome itself.

Horsemen, cavalry, council militias, military orders, Templars, Calatravos, Santiaguistas, volunteers, gentle men ready to fight the half moon. The confrontation was cruel. Terrible scenarios with metal ripping and tearing ...

When it seemed that all was lost for Christians, the banner of the three wolves was raised...

It is Lopez de Haro who, together with his son and his Castilian knights and innkeepers, set out at the head of the vanguard determined to immolate themselves. King Alfonso VIII of Castile, who looks at it excitedly, launches the attack shouting "Here, Bishop, we all die." Pedro II of Aragon and Sancho VII of Navarra followed him ...

The epic and the enthusiasm seizes everyone and it is that the three kings ride and charge just through the hills of the Navas de Tolosa de Sierra Morena...

Brave elite warriors whose origins date back to the feudal Japan of the 10th century. Considered the noblest caste of soldiers who served the emperor, their lives of honor, loyalty and justice —strictly governed by the Bushido code—, encumbed them to the moment of greatest glory and splendor during the Sengoku period (1467-1568).

According to the warrior proverb, A true warrior does not fight for hatred against those in front of him, but for love of those behind him.

Daredevils, robbers and adventurers of the sea... «The worst enemies of the human race» or «The bravest defenders of freedom»? Terrible looters of nabios, corsairs, buccaneers and filibusters, commonly known as pirates, whose greatest splendor took place during the golden age of piracy (between the XVII and XVIII centuries) on the Caribbean coast, which under the Jolly Roger flag faced the great European empires for the dominion of the sea and the looting of the booty.

Dead men tell no tales!!!

The representation of the wolf in Iberian iconography, as a cult totemic animal, with strong roots in pastoral populations, related to myths and religious symbolism, represents ardor, heroism and warrior mysticism. Combat scenes between wolf and man are common, some symbolize death threat, lineage of power, protection in combat ... and the cult of the night, the path or initiation rite, in the passage to the afterlife, lupus as a guide in the afterlife ...

So recurrent in Iberian art, we find it in the sculptural ensembles of "El Pajarillo", in the Elche-Archena style ceramics, in the mints of the Iltirta and Iltiraka mint, in the "Copa del Carnassier", in the "Torso de Guerrero de la Alcudia"... and in the "Pátera de Perotito" where a young man, his hands are raised in a ritual position, is devoured by the wolf, merging with him, in his transit with the beyond ...

Because the wolf is also death, dying to live, dying to resurrect, when we are eaten we will renew our spirit, as a different being that is reborn as a new man. A journey of the initiate to the world of spirits, a descent to the bottom of the caverns, twinned with a wolf guide who will transfer us his great qualities...