Agriculture: The Spiritual Sound Review – Unabashedly Gorgeous Noise from Ecstatic Black Metal Band
Every bit of euphoria, transcendence, and power of heavy music radiates with blinding force from the second album by this self-described "blissful black metal" ensemble based in Los Angeles.
This new album combines immense heaviness with creative intricacies. Lead single Bodhidharma propels along a guitar motif suited to a biker gang, before a blast of noise and shrieking heralds a melancholic atmospheric rock bridge section. The often-criticized technique of the virtuosic guitar solo is spectacularly resurrected by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, whose lead work on this track and on standout the song Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the calm ballad Hallelujah showcases falling guitar notes played with youthful innocence.
Tracks like Micah (5.15.am) and the song Serenity are fast-paced punk rock, but Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has slow-moving Sunn O)))-style fuzz rumbling along underneath its ethereal beauty. Melodies in black metal can often be absent or overly fussy, yet the band's riffs and hooks are vibrant and innovative, and closer the song The Reply even evokes a more intense the band Radiohead.
Listeners who enjoy experimental metal acts similar artists will likely adore all this contrasting dynamics and unabashedly gorgeous noise, especially because the group also have two distinct singing approaches, divided here across two singers. One vocalist contributes sporadic melodic vocals, yet the standout is the other vocalist, whose voice trembling on one track but fiercely howling on other songs.
In typical black metal fashion, it's difficult to discern the words she sings, but they’re worth seeking out: the narratives she sings about suicidal friends and social injustice are heart-wrenching, just like her quest for meaning in a reality that inexorably bends towards conflict.
