Arkhtinn, 三度目の災害 (Third Disaster), Germany, Amor Fati Productions, AFP 253 CD / vinyl LP (2023)
Arkhtinn is the most senior of five acts that form the mysterious Prava Kollektiv network of raw black metal bands, the others being HWWAUOCH, Mahr, Pharmakeia and Voidsphere. All these bands, known to share members, released albums on the same day in early December; Arkhtinn’s contribution that day was “三度目の災害” (“Third Disaster”), itself the third of a series of full-length works of monolithic interstellar BM / dark ambient by that project. The first time I heard this album, I was reminded of Swiss trio Darkspace, whose music is very similar in style and mood, though of course after repeated spins Arkhtinn and Darkspace don’t actually sound very close to each other. Darkspace has a more menacing, despairing, grinding, unrelenting sound and the mood of the trio’s music is blacker than the blackest shade you can imagine; with Arkhtinn, you can find moments where the music admits light and radiance though these elements enjoy a very precarious existence as the guitars and synthesisers race through the firmament.
More for convenience perhaps to fit on a vinyl LP format, the album divides into two tracks of almost equal length. The sonic juggernaut gets down to business fairly quickly, launching into the firmament with a flurry of squiggly synthesiser notes over burning tremolo guitar noise shower and a mix of deep guttural growling voices and higher-pitched demonic gabble. The music belts along at lightning speed while riffs occasionally go crunchy-chuggy, the keyboards pursue their demented melodic paths, the lead vocal snarls and shrieks its displeasure at being observed, and a near-hysterical choir chants in the background. For long tracks exceeding 20 minutes each, the music is very focused and packed with constant activity from the guitars, the synthesisers and the percussion. As you can guess, each track also features varied vocals, with screams, growls and gabbling somewhere in the depths of the music beneath the noisy layering of sound textures at high speed.
The long tracks sprawl over expansive music territory and unexpected twists and turns can be expected. As the music progresses, it becomes more and more harsh, intense and confrontational as the sonic equivalent of a giant hurricane bearing down on land. The cold bobbing synthesiser tones assume a more manic air and the vocals all but go off the cliff completely, shrieking and screeching in terror as they plummet into an abyss with no bottom. The entire work becomes caught up in a powerful maelstrom barrelling towards the very edge of the universe, and nothing can be done to stop it from possibly charging straight into a black hole.
I found this recording very well composed and structured, with the increasing intensity of the music generating the power and momentum that keep it charging ever onwards, with no pause for rest, to the astounding climax which leads into something altogether different, however brief that turns out to be. For a recording of its length (44 minutes), the music is consistent and this consistency together with the speed and the dense sonic textures give the whole work its obsessive and manic quality.