The Band Agriculture: Their Album 'The Spiritual Sound' Album Analysis – Unabashedly Gorgeous Soundscapes from Blissful Extreme Metal Band
All the elation, transcendence, and intensity of heavy music bursts forth with blinding energy from the second album by this self-described "blissful black metal" ensemble hailing from Los Angeles.
The Spiritual Sound pairs crushing weight with creative intricacies. Lead single the song Bodhidharma rides a riff suited to a biker gang, before a burst of static and shrieking heralds a melancholic post-rock middle eight. The often-criticized technique of the virtuosic guitar solo is brilliantly revived by axeman the lead guitarist, whose soloing here and on highlight Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the gentle song Hallelujah showcases descending guitar melodies played with childlike simplicity.
Songs such as Micah (5.15.am) and the song Serenity are fast-paced hardcore punk, but 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 either nonexistent or overly fussy, yet Agriculture’s riffs and hooks are vibrant and innovative, and closer the song The Reply even evokes a much heavier Radiohead.
Fans of experimental metal acts similar artists will likely adore all this contrasting dynamics and unabashedly gorgeous noise, particularly since Agriculture also have two distinct singing approaches, divided here across two vocalists. Dan Meyer adds occasional melodic vocals, but the star is Leah Levinson, her voice quivers 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, but they’re worth the effort: the stories she conveys about personal struggles and anti-LGBTQ bigotry are devastating, just like her search for purpose in a reality that relentlessly trends towards conflict.
