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Black Metal has it’s share of scenes, and my favorite by far is the Cascadian. Named after the Cascade Mountain range that goes from British Colombia south into Northern California. Producing bands such as Alda, Fell Voices, Threnos, and the band that this review is about, Skagos with their second album Anarchic. Their first album Ást is among my very favorites to come out of the scene. So my expectations for the new album were pretty high.
Atmospheric Black Metal is the name of the game. With Ást it was the feeling of being in the forest around a large fire as ancient hymns were performed for the audience. With Anarchic the atmosphere is still there but the compositions are meant to include some more of their musical influences. One of them being Shoegaze. Something that is becoming very popular of late and they use it to great effect in this album.
The number of tracks depending on your purchase may vary from 2 to 3. But within those tracks they are made up of 7 different movements, each one seamlessly flowing into the next, without gaps or pauses. This it makes it a hard album to really write about (at least for this reviewer). It really is something that just has to be heard. To take something out is to lessen the overall. This is an album to get lost in, to be experienced from start to finish.
I feel you have to applaud any band willing to venture out past what they have done in the past to try something new, and Skagos have done just that. They could have easily done Ást part two. But instead they took a chance and made a very unique album, that stands out as one of the albums of the year for me.