Review Summary: Do it slap? Yes. But...
Archgoat are undoubtedly one of black metal’s most stubborn practitioners. After helping to shape the burgeoning war metal sound in the early 90s, the Finnish warlords took roughly a decade off, disillusioned with the perceived commercialization of black metal. But since the mid-2000s, they’ve been doggedly producing an evolving palette of black and death metal brutality based on a relatively predictable, although exceedingly enjoyable, grind-cum-groove blueprint.
With this in mind you can probably guess what their latest album,
Nightbringer, Lightbringer sounds like. The short version of this review is simple:
Nightbringer, Lightbringer finds Archgoat doing what they’ve always done, but it’s a less engaging album than their previous two records. Both
The Luciferian Crown and
Worship the Eternal Darkness saw the band dial in their signature sound to hellish effect.
Worship is for my money the strongest and nastiest album they’ve made and feels the most fully realized.
That’s why I was a little worried that Archgoat may have entered their legacy act era after hearing the self-titled single from
Nightbringer, Lightbringer earlier this year. It’s essentially four minutes of two basic and not particularly engaging riffs alternating back and forth. After nearly 40 years of death-imbibed black metal desecration has Archgoat decided to simply serve up more albums for existing fans and ride into that black sunset on the back of their impressive catalogue? I’d say not yet. Fans should be happy to hear that Archgoat haven’t given up, even if their latest album doesn’t quite live up to the ferocious intensity of recent offerings.
The most noticeable and welcome change on
Nightbringer, Lighbringer is the inclusion of more outright melody. “The Dawn to Armageddon” starts off with the lumbering riffs that the band has perfected over the course of their career, complete with Lord Angelslayer’s menacing burbling vocals and their signature bell tolls. But what caught me off guard was the atmospheric melodies they employed. That melodic sensibility is also found on “The Keys of Hell and of Death,” marking another standout tune. Other tracks like “The Light Behind the Horns” feature blisteringly punky riff-fests, and their closing track “Obsidian Reflection Of Anti-Light” curtain-calls with one of the nastiest earworms the band has written. There’s also chunky, if not particularly distinctive, slabs of classically pummeling Archgoat riffage on tracks like “Iconoclasm the Nazarene” or “Blood of Jesus Spilling Upon the Earth.”
But there are also less inspired moments on the album too. The previously mentioned title track is a slog and a baffling choice to start the album with. Other tracks like “The Stygian Millenium” and “Reaper of Christianity” are solid but aren’t especially memorable. Archgoat has written catchier riffs, heavier songs, and these feel like mid-pack cuts.
Both of the previous two Archgoat albums were dynamic and aggressive enough to hold my attention completely and have earned countless listens. They’re albums I’ll recommend to people as perfect entry points to the band. It’s a league I don’t see
Nightbringer, Lightbringer joining. With each release since 2015’s
The Apocalyptic Triumphator, Archgoat has been pushing themselves to new and twisted heights. While there are some top-tier Archgoat tracks on here, they’re tempered by some less interesting cuts. In that light, this album feels like a perhaps inevitable step back down the mountain, about on par with
The Light-Devouring Darkness for me. Both are solid albums, but are outshined by much of the rest of the band’s quite strong discography. Still, there are enough slapping grooves, furious blasts and even some newfound melodic theatrics here to keep Archgoat fiends satisfied.
At a certain point though this all starts feeling like too much analysis for a straightforward band like Archgoat. Really, you gotta ask yourself a simple question: do it slap? My answer to that is a “yes.” Unfortunately, this time around it isn’t a “hell yes.”
