Agriculture: The Spiritual Sound Review – Boldly Beautiful Soundscapes from Ecstatic Black Metal Group
Every bit of elation, transcendence, and power of heavy music bursts forth with overwhelming energy from the second album by this self-described "ecstatic black metal" ensemble based in Los Angeles.
This new album pairs immense heaviness with creative intricacies. Lead single Bodhidharma rides a guitar motif fit for a motorcycle crew, then a burst of static and shrieking introduces a sad atmospheric rock middle eight. The maligned art of the widdly-woo solo is brilliantly revived by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, whose soloing on this track and on standout Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the gentle song Hallelujah features falling guitar notes played with childlike simplicity.
Tracks like Micah (5.15.am) and Serenity are fast-paced punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is without percussion and has glacial drone-metal distortion rumbling along underneath its dream-pop loveliness. Black metal melodies can often be absent or too complex, but Agriculture’s guitar lines and choruses are vibrant and innovative, and closer The Reply even recalls a more intense Radiohead.
Listeners who enjoy post-metallers similar artists will probably love all this contrasting dynamics and fearlessly beautiful sound, especially because Agriculture also feature two distinct singing approaches, split here across two vocalists. One vocalist contributes occasional melodic vocals, but the star is the other vocalist, her voice trembling on one track but splenetically caterwauling elsewhere.
As is common in the genre, it's difficult to make out her lyrics, but they’re worth seeking out: the stories she sings about personal struggles and social injustice are heart-wrenching, just like her search for meaning in a reality that relentlessly trends towards conflict.
