93696 (studio album) by Liturgy

Crushing and brutal, yet beautiful and melodic at times too, this record is expansive to say the least.

From ForegroundNoise 01/08/2024 16:32

Liturgy has always been a group that has fascinated me. Principal songwriter Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix has never shied away from experimenting with the influences on her black metal (glitch, orchestral, choral) in a genre that is often so puritanical in its sound. When their 2019 album H.A.Q.Q. came out, I was worried they'd reached the limit of what they'd try, but this record is the synthesis of everything that makes Liturgy exciting. Definitely one of the metalheads and non-metalheads alike.

From my Top 20 Albums of 2023: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=74659

Ravenna Hunt Hendrix has long taken her music very seriously, often making it easy to mock the sheer earnestness that went into here works, but with time the full effect of her approach to music has become apparent. '93696' collects and breaks into new ground using pretty much all the material recorded by liturgy, drawing all the way from 2008's 'Immortal Life' to 2020's seemingly standalone 'Antigone' to build towering cascades of sound, eerie interludes and tightly percussive tracks. It's only made possible by this total commitment to the idea of transcendental black metal, a theological take on the genre that swaps the despairing darkness associated with the genre, with a distinctly bright sound. The brightness in the playing has always been a art of liturgy's music, though 93696 takes it to whole new levels by mixing the operatic compositions of 'Origin of the Alimonies' with the glitchy metal of record like 'HAQQ'. It makes for about 80 minutes of some of the best arranged music of recent years, pushing well beyond the boundaries of each form of music it takes on. There's the odd poor decision made on the record, most notably a middle section where three instrumental interludes appear back to back, but in general the approach of shorter tracks building into monolithic ones is incredibly well executed. The choral approach taken in many of these reaches the same euphoric spot as the pounding guitar and drums of the longer tracks, but by a totally different path. It helps that it all builds to the record's highlight 'Antigone II' which takes some of guitar lines of the original 'Antigone' single and 2011's 'Tragic Laurel' to build to some of the most earthshatteringly powerful notes I've heard, the sound is just huge. It's also a great example of the more fluid approach taken to the song writing. While 'Generation' is a defining track for the band to this day, with its incredible use of repetition, the tracks here create the same hypnotic effect by morphing and evolving as they unfold, almost as if they had a life of their own. '93696' is a wonderful project that feels so total in how it defines Liturgy's career that I can't imagine where things are headed next, though Ravenna seems to be an artist well worth holding faith in.

81/100

Liturgy raises the tone with a very ambitious project, while continuing to distinguish itself from its peers by a surprising singularity

Key songs : 93696 / Djennaration

Other rating :
- H.A.Q.Q. (2019) 83

Album Rating: 69.17
(830/12)

Mar 23

Liturgy: 93696

1.Daily Bread 69
2.Djennaration 78
3.Caela 69
4.Angel Of Sovereignty 68
5.Haelegen II. 70
6.Before I Knew The Truth 71
7.Angel Of Hierarchy (n/a - 68 - n/a)
8.Red Crown II 67
9.Angel Of Emancipation 68
10.Ananon 62
11.93696 62
12.Haelegen II (Reprise) n/a
13.Angel Of Individuation 88
14.Antigone II 58
15.Immortal Life II n/a