And so it comes, the first vital release of 2017.
New York City quartet Black Anvil have created nothing short of a modern blackened metal masterpiece with their latest slab, As Was, which is set for release tomorrow (January 13) via Relapse Records.
Recorded by Colin Marston (Gorguts, Panopticon) and mixed and mastered by Tore Stjerna (Tribulation, Funeral Mist, Watain), it is a heady atmospheric feast served in eight monumental chapters.
A sum of many glorious parts, As Was is delightfully ferocious, but not for the reasons commonly associated with black metal.
The progressive nature of the instrumentation and its skillful layering creates a darkness unlike any other I've heard from bands of similar ilk.
Passages taken from the textbooks etched by metal's doom merchants sit neatly alongside moments of frenetic pace. These are then set among delightful passages where the band is clearly walking its own brave path.
In many ways it's the justaposition of seemingly opposing musical sensibilities which serve to open the mind in ways this listener had previously not experienced.
Tracks like Nothing, As An Elder Learned Anew and May Her Wrath Be Just, are all affecting pieces that beg repeat visitation.
Black Anvil show that the black metal genre is much more than one dimensional and that there can certainly be beauty amid the bleak.
Opening track, On Forgotten Ways, serves as a wondrous starting point; showcasing all elements of what is to come - magnificent, thought-provoking instrumentation and multi-dimensional vocals, actually placed to enhance mood and punctuate the art.
I must make special note of the cleaner of the vocals, which serve as an ethereal voice standing above the darkness of the aural tapestry.
At all times As Was is a rewarding listen. Melodic, progressive and extremely intricate, while brimming with primal hack and stab and sonic blasphemy.
Black Anvil formed in 2007. As Was is the band's fourth album and follows 2014's critically acclaimed Hail Death.
Check out the band’s bandcamp page here.
Matt Lawrence
My passion is providing news that matters to the community of which I serve. I have been doing so now for more than 25 years and my dedication remains as fresh as it was when starting out in the industry.
My passion is providing news that matters to the community of which I serve. I have been doing so now for more than 25 years and my dedication remains as fresh as it was when starting out in the industry.
