#krallice — Public Fediverse posts

I love me an honest promo blurb. In a world where every advertisement promises more brutality than a 20-year exclusive diet of doughnuts and American cheese, and more emotional trauma than walking in your parents whipping you up a sibling, there are points to be earned for labels real enough to simply tell us what this is and who it’s for. The sophomore album by one-man project Agonanist arrived with the very simple description that this was “…adjacent to dissonant black metal in the vein of Deathspell Omega, Blut aus Nord, Xasthur, and Krallice.” I happen to have some degree of appreciation for all those bands, ranging from acknowledgement of importance to unbridled fanaticism, so I couldn’t wait to get my paws on this. Toss in some info about hand-carved microtonal guitars in the spirit of Jute Gyte, and this sets the stage for a blackened slab of ugly indeed. Can The Spirit of Gravity possibly live up to such a pedigree?

No, but the Spirit is definitely there. Agonanist could have just as easily labeled The Spirit of Gravity as experimental atmo-black and still been on the money, as the expected ugliness and mind-warping generally take a back seat to heaps and heaps of spacey, ambient atmosphere. It helps that the whole album is deeply overlaid with synth work, softening the more abrasive edges (“The Gateway”) and offering up transitional passages of beauty (“Collapse”) while rarely turning into their own highlight reel. “Effacement” is the two-pronged statement of intent, beginning with the required ugly chords, murky and full and indeed carrying a whiff of vintage Xasthur, but then blending into much more beautiful, hypnotic notes reminiscent of a less peaceful Cosmosophy. This dual approach is found in the bulk of The Spirit of Gravity, as flirtations with genuine microtonal oppression always give way to something more ethereal, and, dare I say, meditative.

Curiously, Agonanist thrives most when it leans into those moments of beauty and atmosphere over the aggressive and ugly. “Silent Absent” takes on a near shoegaze quality in the riff style and tones, and “Disruption and Decay” features some prolonged simple melodies of melancholy and reflection. Featuring a list of guest instrumentalists from bands as diverse as Krallice, Ripped to Shreds, and even Benighted, the overall sound never wanders beyond the adventurous gardens of the more tranquilly inclined Bluts and Xasthurs of the world. “For Mia” tries to channel some real pathos, with a simple, thick chord progression applying some emotional heft in defiance of the expected cosmic perversion of sound, with decent results. The entire body of work across The Spirit of Gravity lends itself more to relaxing, sky-watching atmospherics, only pausing at times to remind us all of the unknowable everything waiting just beyond the view of the horizon.

It’s in those pauses that The Spirit of Gravity falters. “Cry of Cages” is the most straightforwardly ugly song on the album, lurching here and there without an immediately obvious structure or hook beyond its warped and mutated lead. This song is also a strange blip in the Agonanist experience, as the bulk of The Spirit of Gravity tries to wield its two tonal influences in somewhat equal measure. Most of the speed present on the album finds itself in the uglier bits, with the first third of “Collapse”, the beginning of “Disruption…” and “Silent Absent” using tempo modulations to emphasize the spiritual shift before eventually easing just a touch into more major progressions and softer notes. The greatest riddle of the album is found in “Collapse”, which uses its gorgeous synth interlude to segue into a full five-minute outro of the rawest, screechiest guitar feedback and drumming, reminiscent of Spektr’s Et Fugit Interea Fugit Irreparabile Tempus. Suddenly the fusion is achieved, as the most objectively raw piece of the album masters the introspective and ethereal mood teased at and grasped for throughout, and I’m left desperately wanting more of that. It shows that there are greater things waiting in the project’s future, if they can commit more to a lane or improve in their combination of such disparate ingredients.

Much as the art depicts a mass of bright light surrounded by so much darkness, The Spirit of Gravity is an enjoyable, but imperfect amalgamation of two moods. It isn’t the soul-burning exposure to horrors beyond I was expecting, nor does it turn so beautiful that it can be described as anything truly melodic. What it shows is a unique vision, a sign of promise from a fledgling artist with an already well-crafted and distinct flavor. I’d love to hear more consistency, in one direction or the other; a deeper commitment to the horrors beyond or the beauty within. For now, Agonanist have dropped an interesting release in the realm of dissonant black metal, so come take a dive down this gravity well and pray you land on the right side of the light.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transylvanian Recordings
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: August 28th, 2026

Yellow Eyes – Confusion Gate [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

By Samguineous Maximus

Romantic sublimity. It’s the idea that something in nature or art can be both wondrous and terrifying. Few bands capture this feeling as vividly as Yellow Eyes. Led by the Skarstad brothers, the New York band has explored this duality across their catalog—from the more straightforward black metal of Silence Threads the Evening’s Cloth (2012) and Sick With Bloom (2015), to the atmospheric and dissonant soundscapes of Immersion Trench Reverie (2017) and Rare Field Ceiling (2019), and even the dungeon synth/dark ambient territory of Master’s Murmur (2023). Throughout these records, their alien guitar work, uncanny melodic sense, ability to craft music that is both beautiful and oppressive, and obsessive attention to aesthetic detail have made Yellow Eyes one of the most exciting contemporary black metal acts. Now, 6 years removed from their last “proper” black metal record, Yellow Eyes have returned with Confusion Gate, a surprise release and one of the last albums on the legendary underground label Gilead Media. They’ve also casually released one of the best black metal albums of the decade.

The best way to describe Confusion Gate is that Yellow Eyes have returned to a more traditional atmospheric black metal sound, but have taken with them all of the lessons from the albums they’ve produced since. Compositions are expansive and built on the standard black metal foundation (blast beats, tremelos, kvlt shrieking) but are imbued with a stunning sense of hypnotic melody from synths, nature sound effects, and layers of luminous guitars. The classic Krallice-like Skarstad guitar work, which defies all conventional logic, appears plenty here, but it’s nested in a sea of gorgeous harmonies. Songs introduce motifs, develop them, and return to them in a way that resembles classical composition, creating a cohesive and deeply textured sonic journey. Confusion Gate captures the Thoreau-tinged naturalism from Cascadian black metal legends Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room, runs them through the kaleidoscopic filter of Trhä, and finishes them with the distinctive melodic dissonance of Yellow Eyes. The result is an immaculate realization of the band’s sound that feels at once familiar and utterly novel.

In many ways, Confusion Gate feels like the full realization of the potential hinted at by Master’s Murmur. Several standout tracks (“Brush the Frozen Horse,” “Suspension Moon,” “I Fear the Master’s Murmur”) interpolate haunting melodies from their 2023 dungeon synth album gorgeously, elevating them to sublime heights at the center of these dynamic and powerful compositions. Combined with a series of subdued interludes, the record takes on the shape of a complete, carefully sculpted work. Across full listens, I find myself lulled into a dark, reflective haze by the album’s more brooding passages (“The Scent of Black Mud,” “A Forgotten Corridor”), only to be jolted awake by moments of startling beauty. For an hour-plus black metal album, there are no pacing issues, just a masterful display of contrast and tension that culminates in the breathtaking, blissful climax of the title track. All of this is rendered with a warm, crunchy analog texture, the result of a fully self-recorded and self-produced effort that defiantly rejects the oppressive polish of so many modern releases. Every synth line, kick drum hit, and ethereal guitar figure feels alive and organic in a way few contemporary records do.

It’s hard for me to adequately convey my thoughts on Confusion Gate because Yellow Eyes has produced a record that transcends the traditional logic that we analyze music with. When I’m listening to this album, I just experience a raw outpouring of feeling and emotion beyond what most art has the ability to convey. It’s a stunning achievement that stands as a testament to the sheer pathos music can conjure and it’s one of the best black metal records of the decade.

Songs To Check Out: “Brush the Frozen Horse,” “The Thought of Death,” “I Fear the Master’s Murmur,” “Confusion Gate”

#2025 #Agalloch #AmericanMetal #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #ConfusionGate #GileadMedia #Krallice #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2025 #Trhä #WolvesInTheThroneRoom #YellowEyes