Agriculture: Their Album 'The Spiritual Sound' Album Analysis – Unabashedly Gorgeous Soundscapes from Ecstatic Black Metal Band
Every bit of euphoria, spiritual ascent, and intensity of heavy music radiates with blinding force from the sophomore release by this self-proclaimed "ecstatic black metal" ensemble hailing from Los Angeles.
The Spiritual Sound pairs immense heaviness with creative intricacies. Key track Bodhidharma propels along a riff fit for a motorcycle crew, before a blast of noise and screaming introduces a melancholic atmospheric rock bridge section. The often-criticized technique of the virtuosic guitar solo is spectacularly resurrected by axeman the lead guitarist, whose lead work here 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 fast-paced punk rock, but the piece Dan’s Love Song is without percussion and has glacial drone-metal fuzz rumbling underneath its ethereal beauty. Black metal melodies can often be absent or overly fussy, but Agriculture’s riffs and hooks are bright and original, and final track the song The Reply even recalls a much heavier the band Radiohead.
Listeners who enjoy post-metallers Deafheaven will likely adore all this dynamic shifting and fearlessly beautiful sound, especially because the group also have two distinct singing approaches, split here across two vocalists. Dan Meyer adds sporadic soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is the other vocalist, her voice trembling on one track but fiercely howling on other songs.
As is common in the genre, it's difficult to make out the words she sings, yet they are worth seeking out: the stories she sings about personal struggles and social injustice are heart-wrenching, as is her search for meaning in a reality that inexorably bends towards conflict.
