Name: As Was
Brand: RELAPSE RECORDS
SKU: 130755928
Price: 12.28 GBP
Availability: InStock

As Was

Rating

Album: As Was
#	Song Title		Time
1)	On Forgotten Ways	More Info...
2)	May Her Wrath Be Just	More Info...
3)	As Was	More Info...
4)	Nothing	More Info...
5)	As an Elder Learned Anew	More Info...
6)	Two Keys: Here's the Lock	More Info...
7)	The Way of All Flesh	More Info...
8)	Ultra	More Info...

Album: As Was
#	Song Title		Time
1)	On Forgotten Ways	More Info...
2)	May Her Wrath Be Just	More Info...
3)	As Was	More Info...
4)	Nothing	More Info...
5)	As an Elder Learned Anew	More Info...
6)	Two Keys: Here's the Lock	More Info...
7)	The Way of All Flesh	More Info...
8)	Ultra	More Info...

Performer Notes

Audio Mixer: Tore Stjerna.
Recording information: Menegroth, The Thousand Caves.
2014's Hail Death saw the Empire State shredders expanding their dark horizons, looking to the outer edges of extreme metal for inspiration, and delivering their most adventurous set to date. For their fourth outing, As Was, the band seem intent on digging further into the inky ether and drawing out even more intrepid fodder with which to mold their myriad horrors, with highlights arriving via the epic opener "On Forgotten Ways," the relentless "Nothing," and the serpentine title cut. Some of the soaring leads, progressive architecture, and occasional detours into clean crooning evoke the icy grandeur of bands like Dark Tranquillity and Agalloch, but Black Anvil exude enough confidence in their creations to render any reference to other artists as mere sonic checkpoints. Multiple D-beat blasts and torrents of explosive riffing add fuel to the pyre as well, with doomy intros and melodically charged forays into sludge and stoner metal also making their way into the cauldron, resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable, yet unavoidably pugilistic, 50 minutes of in-you-face time. ~ James Christopher Monger

Professional Reviews

Pitchfork (Website) - "Black Anvil remain as willing as ever to stretch....The eight-minute opening number "On Forgotten Ways" contains plenty of twists and turns..."