New York-based dark rock mavens Vajra (pronounced “vaag-rah”) have returned. The long silence between debut album Pleroma (2012) and the group’s remarkable new album, Irkalla, was the product of a rigorous touring schedule and a complex confluence of unexpected life events that paused vocalist / visionary Annamaria Pinna’s prolific (and profound) songwriting output. Indeed, the creation process for Irkalla pushed forward in the darkest shadows and the most brilliant of lights.