Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros (Review)

This is the second album from US black metal band Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze.

Brought to us by an ex-member of A God or an Other, The Fractal Ouroboros is an ambitious and bold work that’s utterly absorbing. Across an imposing 75 minutes Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze unleash music that is affecting like few others.

Holy crap, this is some seriously good stuff. It only takes a couple of minutes to get the feeling you’re listening to something special, and that feeling only grows over time. Upon each relisten this album grows in stature and impact, until it becomes a towering entity of brazen intensity that cannot be denied. Yep, Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have produced a record that is shockingly good.

The Fractal Ouroboros combines ambience, atmosphere, dissonance, psychedelia, and melody into an infectious concoction. It’s a compelling mix of idiosyncratic black metal that’s infused with doom and drone elements. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have stamped a considerable personality on their material, marking them as a band that are carving their own path through the blackened underworld.

Words like ritualistic, occult, and hypnotic suit the sort of repetitive, gradually building music that Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze create with such skill. The album is one big meticulously crafted exercise in worldbuilding, painting sonic vistas that range from immersive tense ambience and post-rock calm, to storms of serrated violence and ferociously intimate aggression. The songs are structured and arranged to maximise the impact of emotion and mood, making for music that’s far more evocative than most.

My only complaint, as is always the case whenever it appears, is spoken word. This primarily manifests on Liberation Ritual, (although sadly not exclusively), tarnishing its otherwise enthralling mood, like it tarnishes everything that the accursed vocal style touches. However, even with this, this is still a truly exceptional record.

The Fractal Ouroboros is a masterclass in blending fury and introspection, with the sort of feeling-rich depth that’s exceedingly rare.

Essential listening.