Agriculture: The Spiritual Sound Review – Unabashedly Gorgeous Noise from Blissful Extreme Metal Band
Every bit of elation, transcendence, and power of heavy music radiates with overwhelming force from the sophomore release by this self-described "ecstatic black metal" ensemble hailing from Los Angeles.
This new album combines immense heaviness with imaginative detailing. Key track the song Bodhidharma rides a riff suited to a motorcycle crew, before a blast of noise and shrieking introduces a melancholic atmospheric rock bridge section. The maligned art of the virtuosic guitar solo is brilliantly revived by axeman Richard Chowenhill, whose soloing here and on highlight Flea will have you levitating with joy – but then the calm ballad Hallelujah features falling guitar notes played with youthful innocence.
Songs such as Micah and the song Serenity are high-speed punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is without percussion and has glacial Sunn O)))-style fuzz rumbling along underneath its ethereal beauty. Melodies in black metal can often be either nonexistent or overly fussy, but Agriculture’s riffs and hooks are bright and original, and final track The Reply even evokes a much heavier Radiohead.
Fans of post-metallers Deafheaven will likely adore all this contrasting dynamics and fearlessly beautiful sound, especially because the group also have two divergent vocal styles, divided here across two singers. One vocalist adds occasional melodic vocals, yet the standout is Leah Levinson, her voice trembling on one track but splenetically caterwauling elsewhere.
As is common in the genre, it's difficult to discern the words she sings, yet they are worth the effort: the stories she conveys about personal struggles and anti-LGBTQ bigotry are devastating, just like her quest for meaning in a world that inexorably bends towards violence.
