Album Review: Amiensus – “Reclamation: Part 1” (Progressive Black Metal)

Written by Kep

When you think about black metal, there are probably certain adjectives that spring immediately to mind. Cold, for example, or maybe something like “icy” if you’re feeling frisky. Furious. Animalistic. Angry, or maybe anguished? Evil, I guess (sorry, I might be rolling my eyes a little bit). Unrelenting. Raw, maybe, depending on what sort of black metal most quickly comes to mind. “DIY” is one I think of also, since so many of the black metal projects I love are one-person projects. 

Amiensus are none of things and not trying to be. The Minnesota outfit’s take on black metal is lush and warm with outstanding production, an exercise in the careful balance of harshness against beauty, crafted to charm the ear as much as it assaults it. They’ve been cultivating this sound for over a decade now, leaning ever more melodic and indulging in sounds further and further from their black metal base with each release, and here on Reclamation: Part 1 they’ve gone to places even further afield. Yes, you’ll hear blast beats and screams. Yes, there are long tremoloed guitar lines, vicious riffs aplenty, and overwhelming walls of sound. But the context in which those classic elements are heard is key. 

The single greatest aspect of Reclamation: Part 1 is its impeccable balance of elements—and without knocking 2020’s Abreaction, I will say it’s a noticeable improvement. It’s a gorgeous album, no question about that, drawing on a deep well of cathartic sorrow and golden daydream rays, incorporating layers of luxurious synth that enrich the texture along with warm cello courtesy of popular session cellist Kakophonix, who also collaborated with Amiensus on Abreaction. Soaring post-metal passages, sometimes dipping into the even calmer waters of post-rock, are prominent and frequent. Clean vocals from members James Benson, Aaron McKinney, and guest Elise Holter make frequent appearances in both solo and harmonized settings. But the songs aren’t just written to show off those idyllic progressive sounds; there’s plenty of visceral metallic angst and impassioned aggression—this is a black metal album after all, progressive or not—and the whole is greatly enhanced by the contrast. It’s all apparent and intoxicating from the first track, “Blink of the Moment”, which builds from burnished post-metal beauty seamlessly to towering blackened fury, which then gives way to plaintive harmonized cleans. Near the end bassist Todd Farnham lays a wandering solo over mystical watery calm before the full band leads us to the song’s surprisingly peaceful end. 

This is beguiling black metal, the sort of stuff that draws you in and asks you to stay awhile, washing over and around you in sonic waves. There’s just so much to love at every turn. The cello-centric melodic theme of “Reverie” and its glorious return near the track’s end. The way that the strings subtly hand riffs directly to the guitars, like in enormous and all-consuming highlight “Senses Amplified”; its passionate clean-sung culmination and sudden following tempo shift into immense chugs are a huge moment. The upbeat warmth that opens “A Consciousness Through Time” juxtaposed against the crushing appearance of Benson’s gigantic death growls and an ardent cello solo that makes the violin solos of Ne Obliviscaris look hollow in comparison. The ultra-dynamic, aggressive approach of “Vermillion Fog of War”, highlighted by a precipitous surge into vicious tremolo that marks the beginning of a breathless back half. The long emotional arc of “Spoken into Will”, its extended intro more engrossing than other bands’ entire songs, and its lingering climax of trading cleans and harshes imploring “Let your voice be heard / Don’t become silent / Speak it into will / For no one can stop us”.

Reclamation: Part 1 is, as you might expect, the first half of a double album, with Part 2 planned tentatively for later this year. It does feel like Part 1 ends with something still to say but almost held back, as if anticipating another opportunity to speak. Closer “Transcendence Through Grief”, featuring McKinney and Benson along with Kelsey Roe and guest Antoine Dufour all on guitar plus Kakophonix again on cello, is a five-minute instrumental with ruminating acoustic as its backbone. Eloquent and highly expressive, it’s a delightful way to close the record—and, though I don’t want to say much, will make for a fascinating back-to-back listen when paired with the opening track of Part 2.

Too often bands misunderstand how to incorporate things like strings or clean vocals intelligently, over-centering them or treating them like a novelty to be fawned over—“look at this saxophone solo, guys!”—rather than making them a genuine element of the album’s soundworld. Amiensus is the antithesis of this problem: everything feels as organic as can be. Their songwriting is mature, their album-long vision and sound cohesive. Even “Sun and Moon”, the album’s longest track at 8:37 and fully clean-sung, featuring very little to classify it as “extreme” in any way, feels undeniably and intrinsically an indelible part of the whole (related: “Sun and Moon” has become one of my absolute favorite tracks on the record, too). If you aren’t into “pretty” cleans or non-standard instruments in your metal then fine, but you can’t deny that Amiensus incorporate them about as well as anyone possibly could.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I’ve been a fan of Amiensus for some time. I thought Abreaction was very good. Reclamation: Part 1, though, is far, far better. It feels like they’ve realized their potential to the fullest, delivering an album that’s engrossing, powerful, and perfectly balanced. It’s a must-listen record, and don’t be surprised when the metal world starts heaping praise on it.