A rising force in the American Black Metal scene returns with their stunning, antifascist sophomore album, a brief on occult liberation in seven parts... the band is unleashing upon our rotten society their sophomore opus, titled The Fractal Ouroboros, the follow-up to their 2019 effort Offerings of Flesh and Gold. Mixed and mastered by Jon Lervold at Big Name Recording Studio, and displaying a stunning artwork by Alex CF, The Fractal Ouroboros is as grim and dark as it’s delicate and touching, being a must-listen for admirers of classic Black Metal with a strong atmospheric and epic vein.
Brought to us by an ex-member of A God or an Other, The Fractal Ouroboros is an ambitious and bold work that’s utterly absorbing. Across an imposing 75 minutes Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze unleash music that is affecting like few others.
Holy crap, this is some seriously good stuff. It only takes a couple of minutes to get the feeling you’re listening to something special, and that feeling only grows over time. Upon each relisten this album grows in stature and impact, until it becomes a towering entity of brazen intensity that cannot be denied. Yep, Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have produced a record that is shockingly good.
But Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have, so far, proven themselves to be absolute masters of their craft, marrying caustic fury and cathartic intensity with lengthy passages of meditative melancholy... allowing for a series of captivating contrasts which keep you constantly on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next explosion of energy or devastating collapse.
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It also helps that the band are a dab hand at putting together some of the most seething, yet utterly spellbinding, tremolo riffs and bleakly melodic hooks you’re likely to have heard all year, and that their excursions into more atmospheric and reflective territories are as mesmerising as they are mournful... it’s my sincere hope that, once you all finally get to hear it in all its glory, you’ll understand just why it’s so high on my list.
Drums and bass factor heavily into the record's sound, giving it a muscular punch whether delivering blast beats or minimalist ostinatos in the more shoegaze-y sections. Though the formalized ass-beating that tracks like "Trophy" offer is exhilarating, their violence comes with extra weight when compared against slower, drone-heavy tracks like "Liberation," which definitely slants toward the ritual sacrifice side. The excellent pacing and structure is a major part of The Fractal Ouroboros' impact: the peaks here are exhausting, and the torturous ascents and uncontrolled descents multiply their effect.
Full article here. The article is the premiere of the entirety of the album.
A storming tempo ignites as the howls scathe, turning madness into a freezing front, spitting electricity as the playing swirls around your head, robbing you of breath. The shrieks do ample damage before the pressure begins to pull back, gently flowing over the land, only to be absorbed by the earth.... The playing is sudden and forceful, wrecking with soaring chaos, the speaking making your flesh crawl. Darkness falls as the anger bursts, leading to a volcanic pace that wrecks everything in its path, managing to make you feel feverish while withstanding the attack. There are gasps of calm as the drums patter, noise hovers, and the spirit makes a strange exit into hypnosis. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze create experiences more than mere records, which they do again on “The Fractal Ouroboros,” a stunning display that will leave you fulfilled and exhausted.
Annihilation is the second track to be presented to the world from “The Fractal Ouroboros.” Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash was released as a stand alone single on the summer solstice, and is a driving monster of a track. Annihilation patiently builds, spending over six minutes in the process of constructing the mood necessary for the moment of annihilation which comes when the composition explodes into furious oblivion. The build is a wondrous, ambient deconstruction of conscious thought, leading to a deep seated sense of nothingness, a preparation for what is to come. Approach this track with reverence. Let the ambience warm you. Float in it. Let the plucked notes pluck at your subconscious. Allow the whispered rasps to float alongside you. Allow the rhythms to pick you up and carry you towards finality. Allow the annihilation. And then…
Hayduke X of MoshPitNation was kind enough to take the time to interview us and put together a full track-by-track review of our upcoming album The Fractal Ouroboros. The article also serves as the premiere of the album’s second single “Annihilation,” as well as the reveal of the cover art, full track listing, and release date (December 21, 2023 – Double LP Vinyl, Cassette, and Digital on Fiadh Productions in the US & Vita Detestabilis in Europe).
Get Productive! is a tool for quickly tracking, categorizing, sorting, and filtering all sorts of projects and tasks.
This project arose as the result of personal needs. For years, I have used the whiteboard in my studio/office to keep track of all the things I would like to accomplish. But a whiteboard has a limited amount of space, is a pain to reorganize, and can only be modified if you’re standing right in front of it. That system can make it difficult to figure out what to prioritize. I looked at existing digital solutions but didn’t find anything that really thrilled me, so I spent a little time to make an application tailored to my personal desires.
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The application has a fully encrypted JWT-based authentication system with the ability to create/verify users and reset passwords via email. I’ve been wanting to learn how to build a secure authentication system from scratch for a while now, so this was a good excuse to take on that technical challenge.
If it looks interesting, create an account and give it a try!
An excerpt from The Fractal Ouroboros, the second call to action by Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze. Over three years in the making, The Fractal Ouroboros is the embodiment of grief, catharsis, and empowerment. It shall be unleashed in time, but for now we offer this piece, "Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash", on the Summer Solstice--this day marking 4 years since Offerings of Flesh and Gold was released. Much has changed in these 4 years, but our statements have not. Our hopes have not.
Towards a better world.
This cycle shall be destroyed,
Achaierai // Athshean // Yaeth
This is the first single from our upcoming double LP The Fractal Ouroboros. The album is a beast, clocking in at 74 minutes. Creating it was a lengthy process and I am very pleased to finally be putting a portion of it out into the world. I played drums and mixed and mastered the record.
