Agrypnie – Metamorphosis
Release Date: 30th July 2021
Label: AOP Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Progressive Black Metal, Post-Black Metal.
FFO: Infestus, Nocte Obducta, Der Weg einer Freiheit.
Review By: The Wayfaerer
Black Metal is often a misunderstood genre. While its infamous imagery and songwriting lead many to just write off the genre as generic screaming devil worship, if one actually bothered to look past the corpse paint, then you’d find that Black Metal is one of the most unique forms of expressionism that exist today. It’s abrasive, yet triumphant. It’s not polished, it’s raw. It blows past petty material desires and touches the primal instincts buried deep inside every man. Every time I listen to Black Metal, I have the urge to venture out into the woods and enjoy the natural beauty of what this world truly is, away from any materialistic or superficial things. To be a Black Metal fan is to be an outcast, an outlier, an other. And we would have it no other way.
With that somewhat sappy introduction out of the way, let’s take a look at Agrypnie’s new album, Metamorphosis. Led by Torsten der Unhold of Nocte Obducta fame, Agrypnie’s bread and butter is exploring emotional torment, loneliness, and philosophy all wrapped up in a prog-black metal bun. Wir Ertrunkenen leads us off with a prologue of orchestral melancholy before leading into the song proper where we are bowled the fuck over with Torsten’s vocals. Not quite the traditional Black Metal shriek, more like a rough shout of defiance. Marc Zobel and Christoph Knoll are on guitar duty and they weave the riffs and melodies together in a high-pitched sorrowful mourn, producing a sound that compliments Torsten’s shouts and creates a tone that feels like sorrowful mourning. Flo Musil adds to the despair with masterful drum work, with blast beats that seem only to intensify the feeling of hopelessness. All these elements together creates a sound that is positively bleak. A roller coaster of depressive emotions that run throughout the entire album. Standout tracks include Melatonin, Untergang, and Verwuestung.
As for some criticisms, I feel that a lot of the songs feel the same, mainly through the guitar riffs. I know the whole point of depressive metal is to create a feeling of despair and loneliness, but when you use the same three or four riffs over and over to the point where I genuinely can’t tell two songs apart, it feels lazy. I cannot speak German, so the lyrics are lost on me, even though I feel the sorrow and angst through Torsten’s delivery, I think I could’ve felt it more if I understood the lyrics, and since there were none provided to me, I had to use my imagination to figure out what each song meant. That can be a positive for some, as you could come up with your own meanings for each song, but I think to truly appreciate this album, I would have to understand the lyrics. Some songs also seem to drag a bit too long. Following up a nine-and-a-half-minute track with an eleven-minute track? At that point, I felt less engaged and more annoyed, waiting for it to be over. While it is a beautiful album, I don’t think that it was for me. If you’re a fan of Prog-Black Metal, this is your ketamine, but I’m gonna have to pass. 
(3 / 5)
