Aosoth - III (en)

A little over a week ago we posted an interview with Aosoth's front man MkM, and between the interview and the present day the new album has been released, simply called III. On this album only numbers are used for the naming of the tracks instead of words.

The previous album Ashes of Angels was only released two years ago, but still you can hear a distinct difference between that album and the new release. The deflective guitar riffs have grown scarcer (but surely have not disappeared), but the overwhelming darkness is still present in the same way. By the way, for the ones wondering what the texture is within the three vertical red pillars on the cover: this is a close up of MkM's arms.

Track III-1 really blasts out. It is clear right away which direction we are headed. Even though the band does guide us through very varying parts, the core remains constant. Unrestrained aggression, insane darkness, but also somewhat heavier parts alternate one another. Track III-3 is even played at a lingering slow speed. Not to groove, not to diversify in sound, but simply because the darkness should not be sacrificed. This doesn’t mean that Aosoth doesn’t rage through your speakers. Blast beats as blast beats were meant to be.

During the album Aosoth has no problem keeping up with this high level. Sometimes it’s particularly extreme, sometimes experimental in it’s kind, but it keeps sounding like black metal is supposed to sound in my opinion: this is about Satan. No light listening, that’s for sure, but it’s easy to estimate how good this album actually is with the first time listening to it. And yes, this is REAL, this is sincere, this is good.

Should we buy this? Definitely! For residents of The Netherlands, the online store Discorder is probably the cheapest option. In case you want more than the CD, say a limited edition vinyl for example, then you can find this at the Aosoth record label Agonia Records. There you can find a transparent version (350 copies available) or the slightly higher priced splatter version (150 copies available)