ALBUM REVIEW: The Fractal Ouroboros – Bull Of Apis, Bull Of Bronze

Colorado has produced some of the most exciting and interesting takes on extreme metal that the genre has seen in recent years; from BLOOD INCANTATION to WAYFARER, the Centennial State has produced some of the most stunning bands and albums within the US’ already impressive underground scene, with even relatively new bands creating some incredibly world class music. BULL OF APIS, BULL OF BRONZE are certainly one of the most impressive black metal acts to emerge from there in the last few years, with the trio’s debut album Offerings Of Flesh And Gold boasting some surprisingly broad and immersive musicianship within it. The band’s latest record, The Fractal Ouroboros, provides an even more sprawling take on the already gargantuan sound present on its predecessor, developing the heady and noxious blend even further.

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Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros (Fiadh Productions)

The Colorado-based trio first arrived with Offerings of Flesh and Gold in 2019, serving as an eye-opening introduction to a band willing to not only push boundaries, but obliterate them entirely. Their singular morph of avant-garde black metal and ambient music was a breath of fresh air to those who found it, and admittedly, this scribe only caught wind of them a few years after said debut dropped. However, when album number two, The Fractal Ouroboros, was announced, it quickly shot up my list of must-listen albums...

This album is a challenging listen, but those up to it will absolutely reap the rewards. Intense, sullen, and immersive, Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have no doubt realized much of their seemingly limitless potential. Their stance against fascist ideologies is a poignant and timely one that raises the stakes of the band’s lyrical content, fitting well within the complexities of their musical endeavors. Altogether, what they provide is a raw black metal force of nature that grips tightly and won’t let up. The Fractal Ouroboros rips apart both conventions and our eardrums with a conscience.

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Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze manages to create a mammoth hour-and-fifteen length that takes its precious time before crushing your soul with calculated second-wave intensity. The swell and lull of its atmosphere has its time and place, thus lending The Fractal Ouroboros its immense but supremely organic feel, each track moving fluidly among its influences and giving each track a unique identity to fuse into the tapestry of the album’s pitch-black palette and atmosphere – dark and unholy places constructed under godlike suns...

Because the album takes its time at well over an hour, the atmosphere must be front and center. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze does not disappoint in this regard, weaponizing an array of synth tricks to concoct such a relentlessly dark aura throughout. “A History of Cages and Broken Bones” and “Our Overt Apocalypse” are mammoth tracks of jolting doom and scathing tremolo that crash through the thick ambiance, while fiery vocals guide the movements. The quiet climaxes of “Annihilation” and “Liberation Ritual” showcase the stolen weight of the darkness, dwelling heavy and dense smoke-filled atmosphere, existential dread coursing through every fiber of the slow-burning movements. The ambient swell of the former transitions neatly into the shamanistic drumming of the latter, constructing a darkened tabernacle that feels more authentic and human, a whisper, than its explosive tendencies.

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Bull Of Apis Bull Of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros Review

I’ve mentioned before that I absolutely love anticipating sophomore albums as a music reviewer. In many ways, the sophomore effort is the real test of a band’s mettle more than anything. It’s the ultimate demonstration of the question of whether or not a solid debut was simply a dumb luck fluke on the part of the band. Yeah, they got the check mark once. But can they do it again?

Well, in the case of Colorado’s Bull Of Apis Bull Of Bronze, let’s skip the cliffhangers and just definitively say that the answer is overwhelmingly a “Yes.” This powerful black metal trio first came through in 2019 with the Offerings Of Flesh And Gold debut, one of my favorites from that year and with some absolutely beautiful artwork to boot. I was drawn to the band by their name immediately, a direct reference to Egyptian mythology and the legendary bull who would carry the Sun on its head to Ptah at Memphis. But their music grabbed me even more. Within Offerings were three thick slabs of dense, whirling ambient black metal, that, most noticeably, took its time with a great sense of pacing between the ambiance and the more raging black metal sound.

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Bull Of Apis Bull Of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros

"The Fractal Ouroboros", with an unparalleled cover, again by Alex CF , lasts 75 minutes and is a colossal achievement. No, its duration is not a deterrent. The compositional concept of Bull Of Apis Bull Of Bronze allows them to transcend themselves and create an album that unfolds its virtues holistically. In addition, they musically transform the spirit of the enigmatic title of the record into an effective musical concept. A basic dark but clear melody, slow, returns at regular intervals throughout the seven compositions of the record. It emerges from the dust of suffocating riffing, from stormy outbursts, ambient parts, almost funeral doom shots, and it haunts.

"The Fractal Ouroboros" through the nuggets and glimpses of another world it reveals between its parts, is an album that seems detached from the demands of its time. It won't excite you all at once, but if you get together with it, as with the projects mentioned on bandcamp, you will see that this is a record that starts from the individual subconscious and leads you to social and collective claims for a better tomorrow. The cycle must be broken. Imagination is the key.

- Translated from Greek by Google Translate

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