Agriculture: The Spiritual Sound Review – Boldly Beautiful Noise from Blissful Extreme Metal Group
All the elation, transcendence, and intensity in heavy sonic art bursts forth with blinding energy from the second album by this self-proclaimed "ecstatic black metal" collective hailing from Los Angeles.
This new album combines immense heaviness with creative intricacies. Lead single the song Bodhidharma rides a guitar motif suited to a motorcycle crew, then a blast of noise and shrieking introduces a sad post-rock bridge section. The maligned art of the widdly-woo solo is spectacularly resurrected by axeman the lead guitarist, whose lead work on this track and on standout Flea will have you levitating with joy – yet the calm ballad the track Hallelujah features falling guitar notes played with childlike simplicity.
Songs such as Micah (5.15.am) and the song Serenity are high-speed punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has glacial drone-metal fuzz rumbling underneath its dream-pop loveliness. Melodies in black metal can often be absent or overly fussy, yet the band's guitar lines and choruses are bright and original, and final track the song The Reply even evokes a much heavier Radiohead.
Listeners who enjoy post-metallers Deafheaven will probably love all this dynamic shifting and fearlessly beautiful sound, particularly since Agriculture also feature two divergent vocal styles, split here across two vocalists. One vocalist adds sporadic soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is the other vocalist, her voice trembling on Bodhidharma but splenetically caterwauling on other songs.
As is common in the genre, it's difficult to make out the words she sings, but they’re worth the effort: the stories she conveys about suicidal friends and social injustice are devastating, just like her quest for purpose in a world that relentlessly trends towards conflict.
