Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 6/5/2013
Label : Southern Lord
Rites of Separaton, album
tracklisting:
1)
Talion 10:56
2)
Hunted 15:40
3)
While Life Lies 10:44
4) The
Battle Fought 6:44
5)
Awaiting 15:41
Bio:
The
name of Gothenburg-based quintet AGRIMONIA will reverberate through the
masses throughout the coming months as their third LP, and first for Southern
Lord, is subject to be released onto the masses in May.
AGRIMONIA has lead a fruitful existence since their 2005 foundation, a steady diet of live appearances and European tours being an immediate part of the band’s ethos from day one, the ranks of the band featuring members of other notable Swedish infiltrators including Martyrdöd, Skitsystem, At the Gates and others. Their initial recording -- a massive nearly hour-long undertaking -- spread through the post-rock and crust legions, eventually seeing official release on European label Skuld Releases. Following their follow-up LP -- the 2010-released Host Of The Winged, released again via Skuld alongside a CD release on US crust/punk mainstays Profane Existence -- the band traversed on American and Mexican soil for the first time with a brief but rampant West Coast North American tour.
Having signed with Southern Lord mid-2012, AGRIMONIA bunkered into the studio over the turn of the year to record their label debut Rites Of Separation, the final product then mixed by mastermind Fredrik Nordstrom at infamous Studio Fredman (At The Gates, Opeth, Arch Enemy). With just seconds short of a full hour of material harnessed, the completed recordings boast the most mammoth and varied sounds in the band’s already diversified and expansive sound, their bustling slow-motion post-rock builds displayed with the most epic refinement. The band’s unconcealed crustpunk ethos and scathing elements shine through the pristine devastation, with elements of Summoning, Damad, Pelican, Opeth, Crisis, Bolt Thrower, Nausea and countless more shining within AGRIMONIA’s crushing, poignant and unique new LP
AGRIMONIA has lead a fruitful existence since their 2005 foundation, a steady diet of live appearances and European tours being an immediate part of the band’s ethos from day one, the ranks of the band featuring members of other notable Swedish infiltrators including Martyrdöd, Skitsystem, At the Gates and others. Their initial recording -- a massive nearly hour-long undertaking -- spread through the post-rock and crust legions, eventually seeing official release on European label Skuld Releases. Following their follow-up LP -- the 2010-released Host Of The Winged, released again via Skuld alongside a CD release on US crust/punk mainstays Profane Existence -- the band traversed on American and Mexican soil for the first time with a brief but rampant West Coast North American tour.
Having signed with Southern Lord mid-2012, AGRIMONIA bunkered into the studio over the turn of the year to record their label debut Rites Of Separation, the final product then mixed by mastermind Fredrik Nordstrom at infamous Studio Fredman (At The Gates, Opeth, Arch Enemy). With just seconds short of a full hour of material harnessed, the completed recordings boast the most mammoth and varied sounds in the band’s already diversified and expansive sound, their bustling slow-motion post-rock builds displayed with the most epic refinement. The band’s unconcealed crustpunk ethos and scathing elements shine through the pristine devastation, with elements of Summoning, Damad, Pelican, Opeth, Crisis, Bolt Thrower, Nausea and countless more shining within AGRIMONIA’s crushing, poignant and unique new LP
Line up:
MARTIN:
Bass
PONTUS - Guitar, keys & backing vox
CHRISTINA: Vox & keys
MAGNUS: Guitar
BJÖRN - Drums
PONTUS - Guitar, keys & backing vox
CHRISTINA: Vox & keys
MAGNUS: Guitar
BJÖRN - Drums
Review:
Agrimonia
introduce themselves on their third record with a near eleven minute slice of
almost all that makes metal good. Inventive riffs, time changes, harsh vocals,
excellent Nordstrom production and an almost Maiden-esque gallop in places.
Hard to categorise, there is something for even the most discerning sub-genre
fan here. There is prog, melancholia, riffy passages, loose grooves, tight
playing... it's all here in “Talion”.
As the over
fifteen minute “Hunted” floats in on piano with an airy feel, you will
be wondering where the album is going to go. There is no predicting it; just go
with it. Unusual rhythms combine with a bleak Scandinavian (naturally) feel to
create a rather encompassing listen.
“While
Life Lies” has a despairing and dreamy opening, but shifts to a kind of
doom/sludge or even slowed down BM feel before picking up the pace and
switching back and forth between the two time feels. The track is serpentine in
it effortless shifts from electric to acoustic, slow to mid paced, despair to hope. Clever stuff, and not just
mere tricks either, the track and album as a whole has an organic feel- note
that just because the songs are long they are not necessarily meandering or
wasteful... perhaps sprawling would be a more accurate word to use here in a
positive sense.
“The
Battle Fought” has a definite BM feel to the opening riff (Dissection, not
Burzum) but again twists away to time shifts and an interesting verse
structure. At less than seven minutes it represents the albums shortest track,
but this does not make it more or less focused than the rest of the record.
“Awaiting”
closes the album with another quarter of an hour of music! In some style. An
effective and experimental intro leads the listener into some grand atmospheric
riffing, using the BM trick of fast picking to play a slow moving melody during
the verse. The breakdown sections are effective with good guitar interplay and
they bridge the track well to allow it to continue ploughing its
individualistic furrow. As a solitary and reverb drenched guitar gives way to
an acoustic that is left to play the album to close, it gives time for you to
reflect on the record and enjoy what you have heard. Again, the album is
structured and has a definite plan to it, I feel.
As their first
for Southern Lord, the album should do well and take the band to new listeners.
It certainly deserves too, so give it a try.
Words by: Richard Maw
