Agrypnie : “Erg” (ревю и премиера)

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A story about the decline of humanity , depicting the world as a dystopian wasteland with lifeless ground, covered in shimmering sand – this devastating picture stands at the heart of ‘Erg’, the seventh Agrypnie album. As you might realize, the theme feels like a dark prophecy that is increasingly looming over humanity in real time.

The album begins with a cinematic, calm and at times epic intro in the song “Aus rauchlosem Feuer”, which after about a minute and a half is suddenly interrupted by harsh vocals and instrumentals, passes through ethereal guitar melodies and drums and finally ends with another dose of fast unwavering rhythm, cold guitars and beastly vocals, infused with Agrypnie’s well-known organic dose of rage and desperation. I never managed to fully get used to the vocals of Torsten over the years, but they perfectly reflect the very context of the lyrics & their emotional side.

“Meer ohne Wasser”, the next track on the album, is a rather more traditional black metal sample. With varying tempos and captivating strings surrounding drummer Flo’s perfect blasts, at times it feels much colder, darker and rawer than the band’s usual vibe, including vocally. The track seems to take the band to a higher level and bring a more primal energy than ever before with it – this is the track that will most likely draw you into the heart of the album and pick your interest effortlessly. Atmosphere, raw energy, emotional charge – it’s all there, with the finale of “Meer ohne Wasser” also bringing a feeling of an epic, majestic soundscape, thanks to the background chants and melodies resembling an apocalyptic battle hymn.

The album then features the ambient track “Blut – Teil I”, which is presented as a prelude to “Blut – Teil II” and stands alone on the album, along with the more varied instrumentals in “Entität” and “Geister”, containing both ethereal ambient parts and occasionally enveloped by harsher moments.

With a similar rawer energy to “Meer ohne Wasser” is the song’s follow-up “Sturm” featuring Hupogrammos from Dordeduh, which directly and quite fittingly goes like a fierce storm through your ears and fades away, leaving a lasting mark. The fifth track ‘Blut – Teil II’ featuring P.G. from Groza, ‘Stunde des Wolfes’ and ‘Unter Sand’ are also more aggressive tracks with heavier black metal instrumental influence, with the latter track though showcasing a clean vocals sections, also brings out elements of Torsten’s vocal abilities that I don’t think I’ve seen in such a light before and I find fascinating – the whispers and even if you like the pitch of the vocals around the second minute and up the majestic tone with which he performs the piece convey a sense of new heights reached by Agrypnie. The song is a great finale to the album, and while the message is overall apocalyptic and dark, the composition itself exudes beauty and sublimity, setting the end of the new opus in a compelling manner.

“Erg” is a dystopian album full of contrasts that seems to push the boundaries of Agrypnie and place them even further into the black metal spectrum than before. The progressive and post-black metal influences are still there, but the aggression and the new implied and more overt elements in the instrumentals definitely point to a development in that direction. Aggressive, emotional and breathtaking at times, ‘Erg’ might just be the title that will push your own boundaries while it transports you through its feral soundscapes.

Follow the premiere of “Erg” on YouTube this evening: