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All the euphoria, spiritual ascent, and power in heavy sonic art bursts forth with blinding energy from the sophomore release by this self-described "blissful black metal" collective based in Los Angeles.

This new album combines crushing weight with creative intricacies. Lead single the song Bodhidharma rides a riff fit for a biker gang, before a blast of noise and screaming heralds a melancholic post-rock bridge section. The often-criticized technique of the virtuosic guitar solo is spectacularly resurrected by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, whose lead work on this track and on standout Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the calm ballad the track Hallelujah features descending guitar melodies played with youthful innocence.

Tracks like Micah and the song Serenity are fast-paced punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is without percussion and has glacial Sunn O)))-style fuzz rumbling underneath its ethereal beauty. Melodies in black metal can often be absent or overly fussy, yet the band's guitar lines and choruses are bright and original, and closer The Reply even recalls a more intense the band Radiohead.

Fans of experimental metal acts similar artists will probably love all this contrasting dynamics and unabashedly gorgeous noise, especially because Agriculture also have two divergent singing approaches, split here across two singers. Dan Meyer adds occasional soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is Leah Levinson, her voice trembling on Bodhidharma but splenetically caterwauling elsewhere.

In typical black metal fashion, it’s hard to make out the words she sings, but they’re worth seeking out: the narratives she sings about suicidal friends and anti-LGBTQ bigotry are devastating, as is her search for meaning in a reality that inexorably bends towards conflict.