Lantlos
Agape


4.0
excellent

Review

by I trust hype on everything that isnt death metal EMERITUS
November 2nd, 2011 | 278 replies


Release Date: 2011 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Evolution in its purest form.

There's something to be said about trying something different. Admittedly, in most cases I couldn't give two ***s about whether an album is revolutionary or not. I've come to appreciate execution far more than innovation. However, when execution and innovation come together and meld into something that is as derivative in its quality as it is advanced in its sound, the product is far superior to the sum of its parts. That's what makes Agape such a good album. It feels like the rather disjointed nature of these elements in its predecessors has finally reached a mutual ambition and been constructed in unison to create what is essentially the pinnacle of Herbst's vision up to this point.

Lantlos' self-titled debut was an attempt at a foreward thinking black metal album sprinkled with the dusting of elements quite foreign to the genre (these elements are probably what initially gave the band that retarded "post black-metal" genre tag) and set the groundwork for the sound that would eventually evolve into what is Agape. Lantlos' second effort, .neon, was a further voyage into the ideas presented on the self-titled, albeit honed to a much greater extent. While .neon is a wonderful album in its own right, it still felt as if the jazzy interludes and noire atmospheres were separate elements melded together as best as they could with the underlying black metal concept. It was more or less an album that truly sounded like the sum of its parts.

Agape is different. There is no one element that can be separated from another in the 35 minute running time of the album. Sure the undeniable jazz influence is still there. The saturated noir atmosphere is still there. The black metal influence is still there as well (along with a much more doom oriented sound, especially as far as the guitar work is considered). Yet, the album sounds much more like Lantlos than it does any of these elements separately. The equilibrium between influences along with a perfectly evolved personality makes Agape much more than just a sum of its parts. As I mentioned before, the album itself only runs what seems a meager 35 minutes, but in context this short running time works quite well for such an ambitiously saturated album. Were the album to be much longer it would cave in under the weight of its own ideas.

As retarded as the genre definition "post black-metal" is, I feel like this is the first album I have ever heard that could actually take the term and give it more meaning than the usual "happy black metal with effects and pretty lyrics and/or 13 minute buildups". Quite honestly there is very little in the way of actual black metal on the album, and that only adds to the appeal. It has taken the sound that has been so well established over the many years since its inception that morphed it into something completely and utterly different. The tracks focus much more on the texture of the sound presented rather than solely on making good riffs. Of course the melodies and songwriting are superb, for an album as ambitious as this couldn't survive without good writing to back up the ideas.

However, I feel as if what makes the album so great also makes it difficult, especially for anyone coming into it expecting black metal. The pacing is strange to say the least, and to fully understand what the album is actually striving for it is essentially required that the listener give it more than a surface glance. It is an album album, or rather an album that's appeal is diminished by quite a large margin when only listened to in parts or on a song-by-song basis. Consequently I feel the same way about most black metal albums so I don't see that as too much of an obstacle really. Yet, I feel that Agape is an album that is unfortunately doomed to be misunderstood, at least for the time being. Innovation is many times met with resistance as it is introduced, but with time it becomes more understood and accepted. Agape is an album that is truly worth the effort of listening to, and I think it will be some time before something of equal value is heard again.



Recent reviews by this author
Jungle Rot Skin the LivingCeremonium No Longer Silent
Utumno Across the HorizonCurrent Value Platinum Scatter
Mortification MortificationDrexciya Grava 4
user ratings (228)
3.7
great
other reviews of this album
DarkNoctus (3)
an interesting idea and sound halted by odd structuring and lack of content, though still a worthy l...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


Album is even better than when i first heard it.

Comments and suggestions always welcome. Feel free to tell me how much i suck.

Except for someguest you can shut it.

Hawks
November 3rd 2011


93615 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Nice review buddy. I didn't like this though. :[

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


Thanks Hawks, album really is super good though.

Hawks
November 3rd 2011


93615 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Maybe my expectations were too high after .neon. I don't know.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


Ehh, can't like everything.

I'm in the minority with liking this so much but i don't really care.

Hawks
November 3rd 2011


93615 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

I wanna like this, but something really holds me back. It just feels like it goes nowhere for me.

Crysis
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


17640 Comments


Still haven't heard this, probably should.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


I don't know if you'd like this or not.

Crysis
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


17640 Comments


Sounds like I won't like this at all because I loathe the whole stupid "post-bm" thing but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

fuckthatnoise
November 3rd 2011


1479 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

i dug the fuck out of this. solid 4 for now, might grow after repeated listens.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


I loathe the whole stupid "post-bm" thing


I tried to explain how this is much better and much different than what usually gets tagged as "post bm" but i dont know how it came across.

Cells
November 3rd 2011


1875 Comments


So would you say this is better then neon?

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


No and yes.

They're both good for different reasons.

DarkNoctus
November 3rd 2011


12357 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

after including the bonus disc i put up my score, it really finishes it off well and really increases my enjoyment of the album. i really recommend anyone getting this to get the bonus disc too with the cover track and white miasma. i'll keep my review as it is since the review was only of the first disc.



this is a great review, too. nice work! :]

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


Thank you noctus :]

DarkNoctus
November 3rd 2011


12357 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

and by the way i 100% agree with you on the fact that i'm so happy with the sound and direction in this album, it's so distinctive and fantastic and blends everything together perfectly but i still can't feel that it could have done with just one more track to finish it off. if it had that it would have easily been in 4.5-scoring area for me and would have easily been the best album by lantlos. :]

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


And that's the only part you and me see differently, i think the pacing works rather well for this though.

Safe to say i am extremely excited to hear anything else Herbst might put out in the future.

auberginedreams
November 3rd 2011


6632 Comments


.neon was so much better.

Ignimbrite
November 3rd 2011


6903 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

*minor* issue: at the beginning of the 2nd para, it should be spelled "foreward" and not "foreword"



But great review, and I like the album. I can see ot growing on me over time.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
November 3rd 2011


27095 Comments


Thanks, gonna fix.



You have to be logged in to post a comment. Login | Create a Profile





STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy