Auriferous Flame – The Insurrectionists and the Caretakers (Philosophically Inclined Black Metal)

 

Boy Greece’s Auriferous Flame doesn’t let up. They’ve been dishing out full-lengths regularly over the past two years, three in total, and not including an early EP. I received a promo from them a year ago exactly, Ardor for Black Mastery, but passed on it because the art lacked that spice I look for, and I seem to recall it was received far after release, which I rarely bother with. Either way, didn’t happen, and I see now that the armored, hooded being is no longer sitting but standing (see artwork of the last one), so let’s stop with worrying about missed opportunities and move onto their latest full-length, The Insurrectionists and the Caretakers. Stuff’s sometimes deep, not your usual black metal, forewarning.

   

Auriferous Flame has an almost instantly recognizable sound because it’s so damn different for what is otherwise a very classic take on the genre. The Greek vein, as I’ve found, tends to follow pretty expected patterns. It can slay like the rest, but tends to be more of a passing wind that eases over the skin, nothing that casts you from the cliffs into the waves. The Insurrectionists and the Caretakers, however, reveals a different style within the Greek take that nearly does this. Auriferous Flame utilize a number of unexpected approaches, and could be called philosophical for both the theme (including the lyrics), and the music itself. At times dissonant, at others orchestral, it breathes deeply of vastness with varied effects and bizarre touches, not to mention the strange organization and supreme level of density. The first track, for example, could be an EP in itself with of all of the different textures it presents, and stretches almost 20 minutes; that’s right, funeral doom level. As the vocals echo and swirl about, when not delivered as spoken word, the band pulls it together in a fashion that demands of itself more listens than you probably can summon the time to manage. At times it runs typical, but at others you’ll turn your head, move the track back some moments, and listen again.

 

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Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Auriferous Flame – The Insurrectionists and the Caretakers
True Cult Records
Cover Art: Gilded Panoply
4.2 / 5