By Monk
Finnish horror-obsessed metallers Agarwaen trace their roots back to 2006, but have had something of an on-off-on-off-on again career, with project founder Anthony ‘Vryko’ Hodju seemingly unable to settle on a line-up of musicians compatible with his vision, splitting the band twice – although he did manage to record an EP and an album along the way… This, the follow-up to that aforementioned debut, has been a suitably long time in emerging, actually being recorded in the midst of the 2021pandemic and seeing its creator veer into the (almost dreaded) territory of the concept album. Um!
Perhaps not unexpectedly, the album kicks off with the de rigeur, suitably atmosphere-building, intro track of a sampled newcast over and under a typically laconic piano mien, before brutally giving way to the opening title track, which sets the almost Teutonic industrial metal theme which is to come throughout the remainder of the album, with huge blastbeats permeating staccato riffs guaranteed to open up any pit without the need for a second invitation. Vryko’s vocals evince the likes of Dani Filth to great effect and perfectly compliment the underpinning aggression of this powerful opener.
He eases things back a bit on ‘Mass Hypnosis’, adopting a more trve Gothic approach than the opener’s industrial mien, with swirling keyboard atmospheric underscoring the AK47-style staccato main riff, which punches with the 1-2 precision of a heavyweight champion on acid, while ‘Lobotomy’ very much takes us down the horror route for the first time, with its growled vocals hinting at a sense of gruesomeness that is somewhat strangely underpinned by a celebratory party metal timbre. Yep, this is some feckin’ weird stuff.
Despite it’s title, ‘Graveyard Shift’ sees Vryko shift things forward a gear, imbibing folk/symphonic metal miens into the overall sound, while retaining that Filthy timbre which permeates the entire performance. Kicking off the second half of the album, ‘Call Of The Void’ is the pvrest BM offering on the album, a headlong rush into the abyss driven by a 150mph riff – although it does take its foot off the accelerator to ease into the track’s darker corners – and accentuated by Vryko’s layered but no less acerbic vocals.
The remaining three tracks – ‘Delirium’, ‘Death Row’ and ‘Bloodstained’ (the latter the name of the fictional cult around which this album traces its lyrical narrative) – are more of what has gone before. Not that this dismissal is meant as any form of detraction from their individual or collective merit – in fact, if anything, the second half of the album possesses a shit tonne more heft than the first – it’s just that I don’t see the point in repeating myself with a track-by-track breakdown. Just go listen to the damn songs yourself!
‘Channel: Lunacy’ touches all the classic gothic/horror metal/symphonic BM tropes, but does so with aplomb and passion, possessing an immediacy throughout which draws you straight into its darkened depths and keeps you, entranced and entrapped, there for its duration. There’s not a dull moment on this sonic thrill ride, which I would highly recommend if you like the theatrics of acts like Wednesday 13 or Ward XVI.
- ‘Channel: Lunacy’ is released on 28 February. You can get your copy HERE.
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