Los Angeles band Agriculture provide you with a clue as to the sound they make with their spidery logo. To the uninitiated who are about to lose their hats, the quartet make an ungodly racket that they rightly proclaim as ecstatic black metal. Normally known for its downbeat and mournful themes, it seems unlikely you could manage to implement any form of euphoria to black metal. Agriculture aim to eradicate that mindset. Dan’s writing channels Zen Buddhism, historical collapse and ecstatic grief. Leah’s songwriting is grounded in queer history and AIDS-era literature. Their press release advises “This is not a playlist. This is not a vibe. It is a demand”, and indeed that is what you will find on their second album The Spiritual Sound.
I hadn’t even heard of Agriculture until I saw a post on social media advertising their upcoming show in Belfast. Initially, I didn’t delve into their music with enough investment but subsequent plays of their debut album and e.ps reaped much reward. It set me up nicely for the first song I heard from The Spiritual Sound, ‘Bodhidharma’. Liking the monstrous groove and melodic black metal, I eagerly awaited the promo. Now Agriculture are one of my favourite new bands. Principal song writers Leah B. Levinson (bass/vocals) and Daniel Meyer-O’Keeffe (guitar/vocals) are joined by Richard Chowenhill (guitar) and Kern Haug (drums). Keeping everything pretty much in house the band produced the album and created the artwork.
Nothing like jumping straight into acerbic black metal noise as ‘My Garden’ so ably demonstrates. Blast beats underpin a manic cacophony that you couldn’t even loosely describe as riffs. When the riff does drop it’s cutting and groovy at the same time. The first utterance of vocals comes in a guttural howl before you are beset by full-throated screams. Tempos switch from hyper fast to head bobbing groovy with consummate ease. A passage of relevant calm veers into indie territory before we’re scooped up into nasty grinding riffs and crashing drums. Agriculture cram a hell of a lot into a track, being subjected to this barrage can be jarring, but I have a new appreciation for their art after checking out their back catalogue. It all makes more sense if you’re aligned with their thinking.
Scorching guitars blaze with fiery intent before yielding to a melodic wave of euphoric shredding in ‘Flea’. Drummer Kern shows off some dexterous skills by dropping from superfast blast beats to a slower paced drum pattern. The first tasty solo drops here and its pure glory and expertly executed. With 2 minutes out of the 3 runtime there is still time to drop in a crazy section of echoed voices and delicate clean guitars. They finish on a merciless wave of scathing guitars and frenetic drumming. ‘Micah (5.15am)’ gives us a little respite with melodic guitars replacing the waves of distortion but those speedy beats remain. Believe it or not underneath the facia of black metallic shrieks lies a pretty pesky little tune that burrows into your psyche. I love the faded ending where the bass acts as lead.
‘The Weight’ appears with a violent stomp, smashing into your brain. The end of ‘Micah (5.15am)’ is recalled for some respite before the band pile back in thrashing at their instruments chaotically. The dynamics of the song chop and change impossibly and keep you engaged, you just don’t know where it will go to next. A screeching evil whine unleashes, you’ll beg for mercy, but equally you’ll be swept along in that moment. This band do not stop for anyone. Well, okay, drummer Kern manages to take a breather as the dying embers of ‘The Weight’ fade. It’s just perverse to give such a maniacal mosher as ‘Serenity’ such a placid name. Firing along on some pretty melodic guitar lines the ensuing shit kicking that goes on as well is an absolute riot of noise, yet incredibly controlled and brilliantly timed. Title track ‘The Spiritual Sound’ reminds me of that Napalm Death track ‘Scum’ albeit 15 times as long. It acts as a bridge between ‘Serenity’ and the delightful and tender ‘Dan’s Love Song’, which is very much in the vein of Loveless with some warped guitars that lay out a winding wave of sheer sonic distortion. Daniel sings a beautiful melody that is pure ache as the guitars swerve with a stunning melancholic verve that is weirdly euphoric too.
The crushing riff that opens lead track ‘Bodhidharma’ is a throwback to Siamese Dream and just as you’re enjoying it, they rip the rug from under your feet for some a cappella screeches. It’s utterly jarring and also quite brilliant to drop to such a quiet. When it launches back into the seismic groove with 2 cracks of a snare it’s pure bliss. Scornful shrieks are pitched into the mixer before the whole thing cracks under its own weight for a tender clean guitar led passage of delicate tones. The solo that violently erupts from the ether may well be one of the finest guitar solos I have heard. Screeching with stunning wah-wah pedal effects it’s completely unhinged yet glorious. This was one of those songs I listened to first time and thought “whoa! No! Can’t deal with you!” all the while knowing I want to play it again.
‘Hallelujah’ is not a Leonard Cohen cover but dripping with the same levels of melancholia it’s another beautifully song with tender vocals from Daniel, verging on country music. Have you ever heard “My head is on fire” sang with such tender emotion. By way of fucking with your head, they drop in some metal chops at the end to startle. Finally, ‘The Reply’ which features Emma Ruth Rundle, recalls the wondrous melodic swoops of their song ‘Living is Easy’. Swathes of guitar wrangle and writhe over some supercharged drumming. Once the initial fury subsides, we’re dropped into an oasis of calm with some delicate clean guitars and clean voice. Beautiful. Let yourself be overwhelmed by the moment when the guitars drop from the sky and sweep you away as noise and melody mix like only this band do so well. There’s a truly spellbinding moment when wailing voices meet black metal howls and it makes perfect sense despite the onslaught of extreme sound.
I guess that the fusion of styles here may not be for everyone. There may be those who like their black metal the way it was before newfangled bands started to split the genre into multiple subdivisions. But my gateway into black metal was Deafheaven’s classic Sunbather album. My ability to withstand the screeching/howling vocal styling is very much compounded by needing melody too. I need something to latch onto. Agriculture make it more palatable by actually swapping out to other styles completely and their knack for ensuring those guitars soar. The Spiritual Sound finds this most curious of bands push boundaries with vibrant ideas, a penchant for extreme noise and sublime melodies. Dig in.
