Review Summary: Let the riffs rain upon your peasant skulls!!!
Post-black metal, sadly, has become very watered-down in recent years. The 2010s wave of bands like Alcest, Deafheaven and An Autumn for Crippled Children introduced a more dream-like, softer side to the black metal genre. Vast soundscapes and twinkly riffage made the “blackgaze” genre what it is today. Things slowed down after that initial surge though, with copycat bands popping up left and right. It really drew away from what made that sound special in the first place. Augur is a post-black metal band from Virginia and their debut EP,
Arcane Insurgency brings a fresh element to a stagnant genre.
My main takeaway from this EP is that it puts a much darker spin on post-black metal. The production is clean and thick, giving the riffs room to breathe while still being extremely dense and uncompromising. There’s a haze in the atmosphere that is like smoke polluting the air we breathe. This EP is heavily atmospheric, yes, but the black metal is still the main component. Too many bands focus on the bells and whistles. These 3 tracks are riff-driven and filthy. You can hear the hatred spewed in each disgusting snarl and in every gut-punching chord. There’s definitely a nasty Norwegian black metal influence here while also giving some nods to bands like Cult of Luna and Leviathan.
Arcane Insurgency is a tad over 20 minutes of menacing black metal. None of that cutesie stuff is to be found here. This type of black metal packs a serious punch. Like I said, while still highly atmospheric, this EP brings the riffage really hard. It’s raw without having garbage production. This is exactly how black metal should sound in 2025; grimy, evil and riffs to the absolute core.
