It’s hard to adequately sum up Agrimonia. Suffice it to say that they are one of very few metal bands in the last, well, decade or more at least, who have not felt it necessary to act within particular stylistic confines. This Swedish mob utilise elements of crust, black metal and sludge most prominently, but there are also odd hints of more melodic tendencies that perhaps even relate to the sound their hometown of Gothenburg is best known for.
The result is overpowering in the extreme. At just shy of an hour over five tracks ‘Rite of Separation’ should struggle with tediousness. Instead it’s an entirely convincing journey of an album, moving through ideas without recourse to the signposting most bands feel is necessary to convey how clever they are. The tracks are all, bar ‘The Battle Fought’, ten minutes plus in length and yet not once do they drag. Each is compositionally varied and developed enough to have a similar effect to being a tie-together of several songs rather than just one.
Most impressive of all is ‘Hunted’, which begins softly, if ominously, with a piano led section before diving forcefully into blasting heaviness as naturally as you could wish. There’s none of the jarring, forced quiet/loud dynamic on display here. Instead you just get sumptuously formed progressive pieces that make perfect sense right from the first listen, despite the disparate influences on display. In fact, perhaps by sounding like a collage of their vast array of influences, Agrimonia have ended up making a record that sounds like nobody other than themselves; a rare feat indeed.
‘Rites of Separation’ is out now via Southern Lord.
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The result is overpowering in the extreme. At just shy of an hour over five tracks ‘Rite of Separation’ should struggle with tediousness. Instead it’s an entirely convincing journey of an album, moving through ideas without recourse to the signposting most bands feel is necessary to convey how clever they are. The tracks are all, bar ‘The Battle Fought’, ten minutes plus in length and yet not once do they drag. Each is compositionally varied and developed enough to have a similar effect to being a tie-together of several songs rather than just one.
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