Released in 2012,
The Asthenic Ascension is the first
Reverence album to receive widespread distribution outside their native France and neighboring countries. But before you go slating the group's evident sonic similarities to other French-bred (no, not French bread, French-bred!) groups like
Deathspell Omega and
Blut Aus Nord, take note that
Reverence have been kicking around for over a decade and this is their fourth long-player overall. Having said that, there is still a lot of industrialized symphonic black metal laced with atmospheric vibes and poetic horror stories to be found here, only it's rarely quite as harsh or oppressive as that of those aforementioned bands. Rather, disc-opener "Earth" is pretty much all tenebrous class and majesty, saving
Reverence's first blastbeaten assault for the ensuing "Darwin's Black Hall" (see also "Those Who Believed," and others), and even that quickly subsides so that more measured and remarkably accessible passages can prevail. Filled with densely layered guitar riffs, harmonies, and melodies threaded with mood-enhancing keyboard contrasts, and topped with baritone chants when throat-ripping croaks won't suffice, subsequent offerings like "Psalm IV" (complete with anguished cries of the tortured), "Ghost of Dust" (with its improbably musical solo), and the title track (an epic tour de force of terrifying sonic imagery) clearly skew rampant dissonance and pursuit of violence for violence's sake (leave that to cross-Channel misanthropes
Annal Nathrakh!). No, indeed,
Reverence clearly aspire to, and frequently succeed at achieving, a much more refined avant black metal aesthetic, and even their evident fetish for industrial ingredients (most obvious on "The Cold Room"'s mechanical bludgeoning) resists trespassing against the very human and emotional qualities of these works. All this qualifies the band as sophisticated French metallurgists to be reckoned with in their own right, even amidst such impressive and rightfully respected competition. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia