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[MACABRE METAL] If time is indeed a ceaseless circle, as the opening track on An Unending Pathway
posits, then Atriarch's latest album makes a great deal of sense.
Pulling from Christian Death's antipathy toward humanity, black-metal
tropes and Eastern music, the Portland metal band casts an album of
familiar sources. But the way it combines these sundry forms manages to
be utterly enthralling. The band's fourth album opens and closes with a
snatch of bizarrely matched throat singing and twisting sitar drones, a
surprising bookend for such a domineering ensemble. But foisting a
circular historic model on listeners, Atriarch embarks on a campaign to
sift through ghouls, grief and the illusion of death via various metal
subgenres. However disturbing the perspective, "Rot"—which is clearly
about decaying flesh—slowly wends its way through instructions for
burial, further elucidating the belief of life's futility that Atriarch
revels in. And if grotesque hopelessness isn't one's preferred lyrical
approach, there's still more than enough shredding to go along with all
the cerebral consideration.
SEE IT: Atriarch plays Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy Blvd., with Usnea and Muscle & Marrow, on Monday, Nov. 10. 9 pm. $8. 21+.
WWeek 2015