It’s long been said black metal plays by no rules, that defiance is the blood that pumps through its veins, that it takes no commands from anyone and lashes back at the power structure. That makes it so strange that so many bands in this circle gravitate toward fascist ideals, basically creating anthems that tip their hand toward, you know, unquestioned power. Fucking weird move, man.
Most people know Ayloss for his work with Spectral Lore, but on his Auriferous Flame project, here on its second record “Ardor for Black Mastery,” he is continuing his mission to wrest black metal away from boot licking and back toward drawing blood of the oppressors. An interesting wrinkle on this record is that Ayloss is employing more of a black thrash approach, making the music more riff oriented, mashing, and dangerous, grinding away at you over seven tracks that are beefy and bruising, making menacing sounds that should have anyone on his sights shaking in their boots. It’s a devastating record, one that lives nicely alongside last year’s debut “The Great Mist Within” and expands the hold to encompass even more territory and flex dexterous muscles.
“Wielders of Secrets” is the 9:39 opener, and it bursts open, howls wrenching and hissing, entering into a Maiden-like mystical terrain that has a classic metal feel. The playing rampages again, going daring and fast, even getting delirious before hitting colder air, icing your cells. Finally, the last strike overwhelms, savage howls dent skulls, howls echo, and everything disappears into the clouds. “Thaumaturgical Irresolutions” is a tick short of 10 minutes, and it lights up and drives hard, smashing its way through, synth dashing at the heart of a storm. The leads twist and taunt, thrashing heavily, the fast pace slaying as vile cries rain down, the drums crushing. The tempo remains relentless, slashing and spiraling and rushing out into a sound cloud. “Behind the Gentle Breeze” is an instrumental piece, mixing electric and clean melodies, a spacey vibe opening up and letting you see into the future, fog building up as the drums reverberate, washing through and turning into ice.
The title track has challenging guitars opening, the howls rippling through previously calm waters, synth accumulating and making the carnage dreamier. Glorious leads tears out of that, barked cries punch out amid overcast skies, and a great force trudges and tangles. The playing thrashes anew, the growls land with impact, and the drums turn bones to dust, blasting into oblivion. “Beyond Light, Beyond Reason” attacks right away, the vocals going for broke, the pace coming in fast and mean as synth meets up with the bloody power. The playing gets chunkier, the leads lather with electricity, and the dizzying journey gets even more so, fiery call hammering and burning into your brain, moving into instrumental piece “Ophidian Hallways” that instantly gives off cooler vibes. Guitars chill as classical runs work down your spine, feeling dark and a little jazzy, running deeper into the universe. Closer “Recommencing the Great Work” blasts in, howls crushing, rampaging through madness, twisting and turning in your guts. The vocals make a deep impact as the playing gallops, the heaviness pulsates, and the cries wash out in time, letting guitars tingle and the drums blast away.
Reclaiming black metal’s mantle from those who bastardized it is a noble goal for Auriferous Flame and Ayloss, and everything on “Ardor for Black Mastery” takes that mission ever further. To lash back against power structure instead of implicitly (and sometime explicitly) embracing it is something black metal never should have lost even an ounce of, and this project is seeing to it that the coursed correction is violent and bloody. This is a powerful second record from this force, and as we go further into the future, the music is likely to get deadlier as the foes in its view try harder to seize power.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Auriferousflame
To buy the album, go here: https://truecultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ardor-for-black-mastery
For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/truecultrecords
Meat Mead Metal 