Avichi

The Divine Tragedy

NMB Records 2007

Avichi is an American Black metal band that is working on incorporating itself into the new wave of avant-garde black metal that is emerging all over the world and especially within the French and American scenes these days.  However the first three songs (excluding the intro Entrance to God) on this album are fairly primitive and main man Aamonael composes some really convincing and gripping riffs that are nearly trance inducing in their monotony.  As the pinnacle of this style on The Divine Tragedy, Phallic Insinuation sounds like it could have been lifted straight off of Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger album with its speedy and hypnotic melodies that repeat over and over again.  It is not until Prayer for Release that the true breadth of what Avichi is trying to accomplish comes to full fruition.  Utilizing some noisy guitars, a calm and esoteric journey is where Avichi leads us with Taedium Vitae.  The Divine Tragedy could almost be divided into two separate albums as the mood and style of the first half of the album is completely different from the second.  The first half is bleak and primitive relying completely on traditional riffing whereas the second half is much more adventurous relying more on single guitar string picking as the foundation for the songs.  But I guess the more I think about it, the two halves of the album are united in their themes of minimalism and contemplation.  While not as trebly as one might expect the guitar production is spot on with it having a sort of muted hiss to it which lends it a really organic feel.  And Aamonael's vocals echo like a corpse entombed within a frozen crypt.  A new name in the ever growing list of American black metal but this entity seems poised for a breakthrough and a long stay within the consciousness of the underground.  Avichi's brand of black metal is both gripping and mesmerizing.  The Divine Tragedy is a noble first step down the path of the left hand.