🔗 Share this article

All the elation, spiritual ascent, and power of heavy music bursts forth with blinding energy from the sophomore release by this self-proclaimed "blissful black metal" ensemble hailing from Los Angeles.

This new album pairs crushing weight with imaginative detailing. Key track Bodhidharma propels along a riff fit for a biker gang, before a burst of static and shrieking introduces a melancholic atmospheric rock bridge section. The often-criticized technique of the virtuosic guitar solo is brilliantly revived by axeman Richard Chowenhill, whose soloing here and on standout the song Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the gentle song Hallelujah features descending guitar melodies played with childlike simplicity.

Tracks like Micah and the song Serenity are high-speed hardcore punk, but the piece Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has slow-moving Sunn O)))-style fuzz rumbling underneath its ethereal beauty. Melodies in black metal can often be either nonexistent or overly fussy, but Agriculture’s guitar lines and choruses are vibrant and innovative, and closer The Reply even recalls a more intense Radiohead.

Fans of post-metallers Deafheaven will probably love all this dynamic shifting and fearlessly beautiful sound, especially because the group also have two distinct vocal styles, split here across two singers. One vocalist adds occasional soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is Leah Levinson, whose voice trembling on one track but fiercely howling elsewhere.

In typical black metal fashion, it's difficult to make out her lyrics, yet they are worth seeking out: the narratives she conveys about personal struggles and anti-LGBTQ bigotry are heart-wrenching, as is her search for meaning in a reality that relentlessly trends towards violence.