ASVA & PHILIPPE PETIT – … And Empires Will Burn

From the album Empires Should Burn… (2012)

Asva is an American, Seattle-based drone metal project, with a revolving line-up formed by G. Stuart Dahlquist (formerly of Burning Witch and Goatsnake) who is the only constant member. Past members have included Trey Spruance, Toby Driver, Jessika Kenney, and Greg Gilmore amongst many others. The name of the project is from the Sanskrit word aśva, meaning workhorse.

Ashva (aśva, अश्व) is the Sanskrit word for a horse, one of the significant animals finding references in the Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The word is cognate to Avestan aspa, Latin equus, Greek ἵππος (hippos), Germanic *ehwaz and Baltic *ašvā all from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos.