The first thing to notice about Dark Archive’s Cultivate Our Blood in Aeon are the coherent harsh vocals. The argument could be raised that it’s not trve black metal with those kind of vocals, but that argument subsides as soon as the face fucking by blast beats begins. Even the intermittent clean vocals maintain a brutally heavy sound, increasing the listeners heart rate.
Joakim ”Lord Mordor” Lindholm (composing, recording, instruments) and Niko ”Perdition” Aromaa had a mission in 2016 when they set out to create something fresh and original and they definitely succeeded. In 2017 they recruited nearly a full band and released the first EP Abandon All Hope and the single “Varpunen Jouluaamuna”. After a lineup collapse the two founding members went back to their roots and started releasing individual tracks on YouTube one at a time. This latest EP is a collection of 5 songs, each one written to be quite different from the others while remaining cohesive.
Unconventional drumming, is that a trash can? with melodic, instrumental parts break up the harsh vocals, something not commonly found in the genre. Deep evil gutturals that don’t over power each track add a layer of pure filth. My favorite part of this release are the chaotic vocals delivered with extreme speed and intensity creating an ideal contrast with the melodic, almost… bouncy riffs.
This album is different. It’s a dynamic amalgamation of black and death, with grindy undertones and future releases from Dark Archive are sure to be similar.
Favorite Track: Closure of Empyrean Delirium
Label: Inverse Records
Release Date: January 31 2018
FFO: Count Nosferatu Kommando, Anorexia Nervosa
