ArchgoatNightbringer, Lightbringer

Archgoat is one of those rare bands going into their thirty-seventh year with their heads still stuck in the same crypt. The Finnish twins didn't make a peep for five years, and their first full-length since Worship the Eternal Darkness (2021) came out on 11 September on Debemur Morti. This time the guys aren't in a hurry (finally, or what a shame? we'll get to that in a sec). Tempos are low, the ritual feel is heavy, and the keyboards and bells are further up front than they've ever been. Most of the people who've written about it agree on the production: the sound is cleaner and fuller than before, but that raw edge is still there. There are new toys too. "Reaper of Christianity" has melodic leads, a clean, melodic section opens up in the middle of "Keys of Hell and of Death", and spoken passages are sprinkled in between (are they preaching or casting spells? beats me?). The complaints are clear enough. The power chord riffs repeat themselves, apparently. One of the early tracks kills the album's momentum, apparently. And the growled vocals drag their feet on the melodic climbs, apparently. The first critics' scores landed between 70 and 80, and my verdict sits in the lower half of that band. Not higher, because when the tempo drops, the filthy, skull-crushing aggression that makes Archgoat Archgoat thins out, and the old heads who want nothing from this band but savagery will be right to call it short-changed. Not lower either, because thirty-odd years in, they could have pressed the same album one more time and gone straight to the till, and they took a risk instead. Hardly anyone in this genre does that. Note for the vinyl nerds: the clear red smoke gatefold LP is tagged 23.99 euros with "last stock" on it, and there's no word on the CD or digital price. Those after the old savagery, hold your horses. Those who love the ritual, hurry up and grab it...