AMIENSUS

A few months after the release of the first album in this set came the second. The eagle-eyed may notice that on the cover of each release it just says 'Reclamation', with the 'Part 1' and 'Pt. II' coming through in the press release but I am not sure if that is also on the rear of the cover. Note, one way to upset people with OCD is to change the way things are named ? this should have been 'Part 2', or the other should have been 'Pt. I', these things are important! Anyway, I don't know why this was released as a separate album, as overall it could have been a double given the first is 51 minutes in length and this is 38, and the gap between the two is just a few months with the first one released in April and this in August so they were obviously recorded at the same time with the same line-up. It is no surprise that this is very much a companion to the first album, yet possibly this is a little more extreme with at times a larger gap in styles between the brusque black metal and the more commercial elements.

There are times when the metal is bombastic and massively over the top, others where it is far more restrained and containing acoustic elements. The album commences with some throat singing and a feeling of monks undertaking dark works as we crunch into Judas Priest-style riffs with great percussion before the vocals move us in a different direction ? the keyboards here have a very important part to play, adding real finesses. Due to a mistake in downloading on my part, this is the album I have played a great deal, far more than the first, and there is something here which demonstrates more polish, while also somehow having more aggression. As with the first album in this pairing, there is a real risk that both proggers and metalheads will pass this by saying one genre has been too infected by the other, but I actually believe there is something quiet special in their approach, and the result is something which those who are prepared to give genre mash-ups a try will get a great deal from. I have not heard their earlier releases, but they may indeed deserve investigation if these are anything to go by. This is definitely a band am going to keep an eye on.

— First review of this album —

This is my first acquaintance with Minnesota-based act Amiensus, and to be honest I would have probably passed them by apart from the fact that they were described as "progressive black metal", which immediately attracted my attention. I know the genres and sub genres are splintering faster than I can keep up with, but what on earth what did that mean? I then realised this was actually the first of two albums with related artwork and the same title being released in the same year, which certainly seemed proggy to me. Formed in 2010, the current line-up crystallised in 2017 and has been the same ever since with Alec Rozsa (guitars, keyboards, vocals), James Benson (guitars, vocals), D. Todd Farnham (bass), Chris Piette (drums), and Kelsey Roe (guitars, vocals). So we have three guitarists, one of whom also provides bass, and three singers, so it already is a little out there for a BM act.

They have already released three albums prior to this, but I don't know if they have come to prog from a traditional atmospheric black metal approach, or if the other albums also sound like this, but this is the first time I have come across black metal quite like this. I have seen them likened to Negura Bunget, but that is more in approach of challenging the norms than it is in style, as here we have a band who can be full on BM with the expected gruff vocals at one point, or mixing into a more of a power metal approach with lush harmonies, or bringing in keyboards here, mixing time signatures with a rhythm section who rarely settle into a traditional black metal mode but who can deliver that when the need arises. The result is an album which is all over the place when it comes to musical style, yet at the same time when it is being played it all makes perfect sense, just that no-one knows where the journey is going to lead as what we have here is not a band playing songs which are different to each other in terms of style but rather they are mixing and blending within.

The risk, which is quite real, is that people into black metal will not enjoy what they are doing to the genre, while progheads, even those into prog metal, will find there is too much of here of a style they do not enjoy or understand. Then you have the weirdos like me who enjoy being challenged and feel this has great commercial elements to lighten the black metallic atmosphere, which ensures we get plenty of light and shade and enjoy hearing music being deployed in new ways.

My current mantra has become "So much music, so little time" as the more i explore the vast universe of musical expressions that have been recorded i feel like the branches on the tree grow faster than i can count the leaves that have grown but such is the life of the intrepid seeker of sonic possibilities with yet another band that has eluded me for so long yet now am finally tackling only to find another veritable pool of talented that has escaped my radar. The Rochester, Minnesota act AMIENSUS has been churning out its unique style of progressive black metal since 2010 and has become one of those underground sensations where it takes the Enslaved post-Mardraum route of fusing raging black metal fury with the more nuanced compositional flair of modern progressive rock. This band has not exactly been prolific with only five albums under its belt since its 2012 debut "Restoration" but 2024 has been graced with not one but two new albums which most likely could've been released as a single double album but has become a two part set of albums instead.

Following in the footsteps of "Reclamation: Part 1" which was released in April is the second coming aptly titled RECLAMATION: PART 2 which came out in August. Shamefully i missed chapter one of this combo package separated by time but considering i find lyrics and concepts secondary to my musical exploration i decided to just take the plunge into the world of AMIENSUS and just check out the latest and what some consider the greatest of the AMIENSUS canon. Well, how's it hold up? Remarkably well actually! This band has mastered the art of crafty dynamics which allows the brash bravado of black metal to sit peacefully in the same corner as dreamy atmospheric post-rock, clean vocal progressive metal majesty and moments of more "normal" symphonic metal that weave in sophisticated atmospheric constructs into the black 'n' roll type of grooves that the band nurtures into thundering expressions of grandeur as the band explores the existential themes of philosophy, theology, psychology and mythological subject matter.

With a passionate exuberant musical display of instrumental competency and crafty compositional fortitude, AMIENSUS delivers a satisfying mix of black metal bombast with progressive constructs that allow the seven tracks of 38 1/2 to shine brightly with a rather satisfying black metal style alternating with moments of non-metal ambience whether it be post-rock, Middle Eastern inspirations or just more chilled moments of less frenetic progressive rock. The band has mastered the art of juggling all these elements without the feeling of being forced or stilted. In other words AMIENSUS crafts a continuity and consciousness flow that succeeds quite well in its approach as often these tightrope acts leads to a bumbling clunky musical procession that can often sound stilted and spurious. Probably better to think of AMIENSUS as a progressive metal band with black metal as its primary side sound rather than a black metal band per se as there are many moments where non-metal and just plain progressive metal styles dominate sometimes for entire tracks such as "The Distance."

Considered AMIENSUS' most versatile album of its career (although i can't compare other albums as of yet), RECLAMATION: PART II may or may not provide the appropriate second half of the overarching double album concept but when taken alone as a sole experience it is indeed quite satisfying as a progressive black metal behemoth with uncompromising black metal aggression wrapped up in equally compelling atmospheric extravagance which is as vital an element to the overall AMIENSUS sound as the metal brashness. Of course kvlt purists will immediately diss this hybridization effect but for fans of modern Enslaved, Gris, Negura Bunget or Xanthochroid, this band will definitely appeal to your expansive sensibilities that incorporate black metal into a larger musical context. A lot to like with this one. Excellent black metal riffing that sometimes borders on death metal. Strong raspy vocals that sound like the perfect mix of prog and black metal. Nice interludes that offer breaks from the aggression and interesting atmospheric developments that independently exist beyond mere accent sounds. My first exposure to AMIENSUS was a great one and look forward to a deeper dive.