Agriculture: Their Album 'The Spiritual Sound' Review – Unabashedly Gorgeous Soundscapes from Ecstatic Black Metal Band
Every bit of euphoria, transcendence, and intensity in heavy sonic art bursts forth with blinding energy from the second album by this self-proclaimed "blissful black metal" collective based in Los Angeles.
The Spiritual Sound combines crushing weight with creative intricacies. Lead single Bodhidharma rides a riff fit for a biker gang, before a blast of noise and shrieking heralds a sad atmospheric rock bridge section. The maligned art of the widdly-woo solo is spectacularly resurrected by guitarist the lead guitarist, whose lead work on this track and on standout Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – yet the calm ballad Hallelujah features descending guitar melodies played with childlike simplicity.
Tracks like Micah and Serenity are high-speed punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has slow-moving drone-metal fuzz rumbling underneath its ethereal beauty. Black metal melodies can often be absent or too complex, yet Agriculture’s riffs and hooks are vibrant and innovative, and final track the song The Reply even recalls a more intense the band Radiohead.
Listeners who enjoy experimental metal acts similar artists will probably love all this contrasting dynamics and unabashedly gorgeous noise, especially because the group also feature two divergent vocal styles, divided here across two vocalists. Dan Meyer contributes occasional soulful, clean singing, but the star is the other vocalist, her voice quivers on Bodhidharma but splenetically caterwauling elsewhere.
As is common in the genre, it's difficult to discern her lyrics, but they’re worth seeking out: the narratives she conveys about suicidal friends and social injustice are heart-wrenching, just like her search for meaning in a reality that relentlessly trends towards violence.
