This is the debut album from Agenbite Misery, a US black/death/sludge metal band.
Okay, it’s to the promo blurb for this one – “…the band began with a deceptively simple idea: to adapt James Joyce’s Ulysses into an experimental metal album. What emerged from that idea is a 55-minute odyssey of layered sonic aggression and literary depth, an album that blends blackened sludge, dissonant death metal, post-punk, ambient drone, and more into a singular, genre-defying statement of purpose.” So there you have it.
Remorse of Conscience is a blackened hybrid entity – it has the heart of a writer, but the temperament of a killer. This is extreme metal, and frequently an unfriendly and lethal version of it. Agenbite Misery have created their own brand of controlled and carefully channelled chaos, one that walks a line between cerebral and feral.
So, the style is certainly a blend, as mentioned above, but one that essentially has a modern black metal foundation underneath the filth. On top of this, the band have built a blackened mix of death, doom, sludge, and much else, as well as a general sense of nastiness. Blackened progressive sludge is probably a decent starting point as a subgenre tag, but why overthink it I suppose – extreme metal covers a lot of bases, and is vague enough to be useful. But yeah, blackened progressive sludge, with bells and whistles, probably covers it. Either way, it’s damn good.
The songwriting across the album is strong, and each track has a voice and a narrative of its own, yet naturally feeds and flows into the rest, despite their standalone nature. There are atypical structures and riffs that sit alongside more traditional elements, making for an album that offers the listener a compelling, interesting, and ultimately very enjoyable journey to embark upon. Agenbite Misery have crafted a selection of songs that embrace the listener in a crushing bear hug, before diving deep into their multifaceted blackened world and then simply expect the listener to hold on tight and keep up. Not that all of the material is fast, more that there’s a lot of twists and turns, a lot of blind alleyways and uncommon pathways; Remorse of Conscience has a great deal to navigate, and unwary, unprepared listeners could come away unfulfilled, or lost completely to the music’s brutally antagonistic world.
Remorse of Conscience is harsh and unforgiving, but not without grace or finesse. It’s ugly, but not without beauty. The songs shine with grim lustre, through cascades of pitch black distortion and abrasive heaviness. Amidst the chaos and mayhem are islands of calm reflection or introspective worldbuilding, alongside progressive and atmospheric aspects that are well-planned. All of this succeeds in allowing the band to flesh out their aggressively compelling soundscapes, presenting an album of caustic corrosion that’s strangely infectious and remarkably alluring.
Agenbite Misery have produced an impressive first record. It’s a layered exploration of well-constructed, subgenre-rich blackened sludge. As hostile and merciless as it is, there’s light here, but it’s surrounded by a heart of darkness that’s getting closer and closer. If you’re a fan of bands such as the following, you may find something to love on Remorse of Conscience – Converge, Dragged into Sunlight, Inter Arma, Khanate, Primitive Man, Pyrrhon, This Gift Is a Curse, Oranssi Pazuzu, etc.
Essential listening.
Wonderbox Metal 