Cold Of Ages

Hoooooly shit, I can’t get over how good this is. West Coast black metal dark horse comes out of nowhere to kick our collective ass with their second album. Their debut was incredible, but this just takes it to the next level—the whirlwind riffs are faster and more complex, yet tethered to an accessible ground with pensive ambient interludes; each song is a mini-epic, soaring into unpredictable crescendos. Unlike most heady, academic US black metal these days, this is dark and brutal rather than predictably pretentious. Yes, there are resemblances to Panopticon and Krallice, but they also evoke Iceland’s Wormlust and hell, even Mayhem at their best (musically, not homicidally). Don’t miss out on this!
FCC clean, as far as anyone can tell. All songs rule.

1. (16:52) Intricate epic destruction, totally slays, you pretty much know what you’re in for but you also don’t—drone, doom, blastbeat-driven black metal, all in one annihilating song. What more could you want?
2. (11:25) You’d want more of the same, duh. The shortest track condenses it all, so less of an epic gradual development and more plodding march/wintry whirlwind aggression, with the final three minutes drifting off in a spacey dark ambient soundscape.
3. (18:09) AW FUCK YEAH, if you don’t love this song then you’re a poser and I hate you. Just kidding, but seriously this track will knock your socks off. It almost takes too long to develop to its apex, but once you reach the final section, the whiplash will speak for itself.
4. (15:33) dreamy choral / shoegaze opening, total Worm Ouroboros vibe drifts into some sinister terrain; then, as you may expect by now, the black metal will flay you alive.