Band:	Agriculture
Album:	Agriculture
Style:	Black metal, Post-metal
Release date:	July 2023

01. The Glory Of The Ocean
02. The Well
03. Look, Pt. 1
04. Look, Pt. 2
05. Look, Pt. 3
06. Relier


Agriculture deliver noisome black metal that's a danger to all who value their ears.

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the four-piece known as Agriculture deliver their debut LP: Agriculture. On their Bandcamp page, they themselves describe their musical direction as "ecstatic black metal" as they attempt to express feelings of overwhelming happiness and ecstasy in a genre typically known for its dark depression. However, instead of filling me with joy, this album leaves me with a searing headache as I try to organize the jumbled mess called Agriculture.

To be fair, the first track starts off quite nicely with a surprisingly calm melody that provides a tranquil, psychedelic ambience. Yet, at the 3:30-minute mark, Agriculture reveal the style which dominates the rest of the album: a combination of pained, blackened wails and high-pitched, erratic tremolo-picked riffs. I appreciate when a vocalist is truly expressive, and this is undeniably the case here. Unfortunately, the incessant tremolo-picking quickly becomes a chore on the ears, reaching nearly unbearable levels on track 5.

That isn't to say there is no variety on the album. Yet, the use of additional instruments like the saxophone and violin are rather seldom. Their most prominent use features on track 5, where they are only used to create an anti-musical wall of grating noise. The second track provides a jarring switch in style with the sudden inclusion of melancholic, clean singing, which sounds like it could pass for an American country song. The twang in the cracking voice is actually even more painful to listen to than the blackened yelps. This rather out-of-place track is somewhat redeemed as the lyrics are paralleled in the next song — but this time in the usual, noisome black metal style.

Overall, the album reminds me of Dryad's The Abyssal Plain with its rabid musicianship, raucous vocals, and ocean-themed cover art. However, while Dryad used the contrast of demented, rapid-fire metal and eerie, underwater synth tracks and audio samples to create an enthralling yet unnerving experience, Agriculture's approach feels very directionless and unorganized, leaving me thoroughly annoyed rather than satisfied. Perhaps fans of noise metal will find some enjoyment in the incessant tremolo-picking and the wild saxophone tunes, as long as they stay clear of the painfully bland country song. But, for me, other than the pleasant intro and the terrific, tortured screams of the vocalist, there is little else that I find enjoyable on Agriculture.