Album Premiere: Argesh – Excommunica
TODAY’S FEATURE PRESENTATION: ITALIAN APOSTATE BLACK METAL
It’s never easy to get your debut album heard these days. It’ll be doubly as hard if you haven’t built up a following with gigs and demos, or don’t have the aid of having famous members, or a ton of community connections to fall back on.
Italian apostate black metallers, as they call their music, Argesh is about to find this out. Or at least so I wager. I’d also wager they’d consider it a damn shame given the five years of work that’s gone into the album. We at Toilet ov Hell would have considered this a damn shame as well, and so we are proud to bring you Excommunica.
Argesh knows the blasphemous grandeur of Dimmu Borgir, but seeks to express a similar idea without the aid of a symphonic arsenal. Their black metal is coarser, their songwriting heavier on riffs and their melodies more deliberate.
When blasting at full speed, and at a few more breakdown-y segments, Argesh brings to mind Behemoth, or even more so, fellow Italians Fleshgod Apocalypse. Lo and behold, there is another comparison to a symphonic metal band. Proof of the grandeur Argesh has captured within these songs. Proof of power and passion, and how much can be achieved through them, even using a lesser scope.
They don’t entirely go without some such elements, for example choirs make an appearance on the background of some songs, and two feature clean lead vocals as well. But Argesh has captured the entire range on half the scope, so to speak.
Excommunica releases on Nero Corvino today! Make sure to check up on the band on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp and tell them we said ” ‘Sup”. Do check out the label’s Bandcamp and Facebook as well.
