Aphrenous - "Ravaged By The Incessant Scourge Of Deception" (2011) [Self-Released]

True black metal. Cult black metal. Both are terms that have more or less become a joke and/or a way to insult those who see progression as a problem within black metal. Anything that is different from the first and second waves of black metal, sonically (and chronologically, seeing as though the first and second waves are the ONLY true or cult black metal recordings ever created) is not true to the original black metal form. They are denounced as such; NOT TRVE NOT KVLT. The internet has made these concepts into a meme of sorts, but there is a certain amount of truth to them. Black metal, at its core, is nothing more than an extension of 80s metal, but more minimal and dabbles in the occult (paganism, satanism, etc.), when you start adding 'new-age' influences (post-punk, shoegaze, etc.) it is no longer real black metal. It may be influenced by black metal, but declassifies itself as such by its ability to progress the standard template of black metal. There are tons of Translyvanian Hunger rip-off bands that have emerged, but none of them are true or cult. They are merely carbon-copies of a long gone era of pure emotional catharsis, express through the blackest of metals.

Aphrenous; a band I am not wholly familiar with as far as backgrounds go, but could honestly care less. "Ravaged By The Incessant Scourge Of Deception" is a lesson in old-school black metal worship done right. Truthfully, if I had not known this album was released this year, I would have truly believed it was some obscure gem unearthed from the mid 90s. Scathing, hateful black metal with an incredibly cold production. This album is raw, but not in an un-listenable way, every instrument is clearly heard (the bass gets buried a bit, big surprise) but for a sound like this, no other production could suit. 3 loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong songs of razor sharp riffing, minimalistic drumming and hateful vocals. There are times that the music has an almost folk-y feel, but more in melody than instrumentation. This album continually reminds me of the first Borknagar record, both in production, but also in the way they perform the music. Icy eruptions of black hate emerge from every note, every drum hit and vocal line.

Honestly, I cannot stop listening to this album. It creates a weird kind of nostalgia for me, thinking back to my early/mid teens (which was quite sometime ago) of black devotion. The newest release from Aphrenous is neither true nor cult (although it certainly sounds so) but has an unnerving sense of purity that has not been heard by these ears in quite sometime. I really hope they continue to make music in the future, because I will be a follower for many moons to come. Hail Aphrenous!

-E.