By Jase Walker
I’m back at Patronaat over in Haarlem for the second time in the space of 24 hours but this time for a different kind of heavy. Tonight’s show from Agriculture is going to involve by far more blast beats and intense tremolo picking as a signature style of delicious black metal. I’ve got myself propped up at my same vantage point because it’s the best view in the house and also a nice bit to lean on as well.
Along for the ride on this tour are Machukha, who are a new one for me so I’ve been deliberately waiting to see what they’re about because I love a good surprise from a support act! While the vibe may be a bit different tonight, it’s all good stuff for me as I live a loud life and this is another cherry on top of a massive cake.
Machukha kicks things off with the room going dark and, uh, staying dark. That’s put me a bit on tilt right from the start as I’m a bit overly used to massive bright lights accompanying kicking things off with blast beats but consider my expectations thoroughly subverted. The use of strobing deep reds reminds me a lot of Celeste actually, a similar vibe band in sound and production choices.
What stands to me about their sound is although most of the hallmarks of black metal are absolutely present, they’ve got a streak of sound that echoes the likes of MØL, some interesting shoegaze overtones that weaves in subtle melodies. This is exactly why I wanted to see them live first and foremost over investigating them prior to the show, you get to see a band present their material in the way they deem best and I find it leaves a stronger impression on me than whacking a few songs on. The lighting does switch up a bunch though, although still keeping in with strong use of strobed lighting.
Machukha utilize some interesting subtlety and atmosphere throughout their set, it’s not all intensity and aggression, but extended segments of noise and… saxophone..? The crowd is almost completely silent during these moments too which is great, I often find more metal aligned crowds have a tendency to chatter a lot so being able to hear every nuance during these bits is a real treat.
These quieter moments and their steady build into a cacophony of noise give me flashbacks to Hundred Year Old Man and I get the same goosebumps seeing a band that can command the same tenderness of softer parts and smashing into incredible peaks of fury. Machukha have seriously impressed with this set though, rather than opting for a somewhat typical opener style of “play as many songs as possible and get off stage”, they’ve instead chosen to really dig into the artistic elements of a performance and have crafted a live show that is every bit as much an art piece as it is a live performance and that takes real integrity.
Paging Roadburn and ArcTanGent: get these booked.
And the main course for tonight’s show, Agriculture. Much like last time at OCCII, they’re very much not ones for big introductions, opting instead to go straight from the line checks to a discordant noisy lead into the first song. Ladies, gents, and theys, prepare yourselves for some blast beats and screaming!
Now I don’t know for sure if this is just recency bias or not but the sudden rhythmic switches and uses of chugs are way more noticeable this time round, I’m getting a much more avant-garde feel from them. That being said, the next round of incredibly rapid playing and assault of blast beats is never too far away! Despite this not really being a pitting vibe for tonight, there’s not one person here that isn’t enthusiastically throwing their heads around while making all manner of various gurns. It’s generally unavoidable but seeing a band more than once is going to leave a bar for you to benchmark them against next time and Agriculture left a pretty high one to clear last time but this performance already is setting it even higher.
I feel like this return of Agriculture is showing a band that is much more self-assured and confident, and with another album due very soon it shows definite growth as musicians and performers. The step up to a beefy backline provided by Patronaat definitely helps with giving their live sound the punch and clarity it so richly deserves too, not trying to dunk on OCCII obviously but Patronaat has a real top quality system. The noise made by a distorted guitar and bass being played with a bow is unnervingly haunting, especially when backing vocals that sound closer to a hymn.
Agriculture clearly hasn’t lost sight of the art of a good drum solo either, can’t let that go amiss when you’ve got the chance to eh? Same goes for a proper guitar solo spot with no backing either, I’d never sniff at a good old wailing guitar session. Agriculture truly are a phenomenal band, their folk influences shine through so strongly and yet still maintain a focus on energetic black metal infused playing, a real joy to witness again. Seeing bands absolutely kill it like this is what makes going to so many shows worth every minute of my time.
I hope the rest of the tour has been an amazing journey for both acts and with Machukha added to my ever sprawling list of bands that kick serious arse alongside Agriculture, I’ll be retiring to my bed with a smile on my face and ringing in my ears. Great stuff.