Review: Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

Agriculture flips Black Metal’s playbook on the quartet’s second album for Flenser.

The Spiritual Sound is Agriculture's second full-length for The Flenser, and it finds the band breaking free from black metal's conventional constraints. The Los Angeles quartet pushed past its barriers with enough force to make something genuinely fresh while keeping the expected darkness. This isn't black metal with a few tweaks. It's audacious experimentation that adds layers the genre rarely sees.

The opening track "My Garden" cuts aggressively through the ear of an abstracted listener, yelling for you to be aware of what you see (and listen). The guitars blast with immediate intensity and, from the first seconds, your attention is demanded.

The record is full of details, shifting from moments of pure chaos and ecstasy to moments of slowing down and contemplation. Tracks like "Dan's Love Song" and "Hallelujah" pull back, offering space to breathe before the next wave hits, a dynamic that keeps the album from becoming predictable, even at its most unrelenting.

"Micah (5:15am)" reveals itself as one of the album's strongest moments. The frenetic drums intertwine with melodic guitars, exploding into a gripping performance that manages to be both violent and joyful with an impressive balance of aggression and polished songwriting.

"Bodhidharma" popped up as the first single anticipating the album, and it fits strongly into the definitive tracklist. After a brief intro, Leah Levinson yells through the silence - "You look like you're dying" -  grabbing the attention just to slowly build the riff’s comeback with a loud explosion. It's a perfectly executed moment of tension and release that expresses the record's push/pull dynamic.

The experimentalism throughout this LP makes it one of the best records released this year, even if some metal fans who skew more conservative might not be that impressed. Agriculture pulls influences from well beyond black metal's usual palette, and that willingness to take risks pays off. The Spiritual Sound is a beautiful insanity, one that rewards the innovative approach and boldness of the group. I didn't have the opportunity to see the band live yet, but looking at clips online it appears to be an indispensable experience to catch soon. Meanwhile… the record will keep spinning.

Album Highlights
My Garden
Mica (5:15am)
Bodhidharma

Replayability Level: On Repeat