Monumental frontage toppled by the primal aggression of an endtime siege and the doomed despondency resultant are captured here on the long anticipated sophomore full-length album from Wellington, New Zealand based bestial blackened death metal quartet HERESIARCH who return with newly tragedian extermination orders seven years beyond their last excursion. ‘Edifice‘ offers a potent leap and unforeseeable change which blurs the lines of war-metallic volatility into new realms of death and doomed decay, crafting battlefield and bloody aftermath alike within each of the ten scenes depicted herein. Commendable as this evolution is in its broader dynamic effect the harried-and-horrified mastery available to these pieces speaks to an inimitable fortitude, a confidence in the seat of command rather than the blindly strewn fare of an experimental leadership.

Heresiarch formed circa 2008 with long-standing founder/vocalist N.H. (Verberis) being the consistent frontage of the group with past-and-present Diocletian members cycling through each band in their early stages of development, eventually landing guitarist C.S. as a fixture of the band since 2013. Rather than chip through each release I could generally suggest their aesthetic, attack and overall presentation was apparent early on but found its personal context on the ‘W​æ​lwulf‘ (2014) 7″, their last release with guitarist M.H. who’d left to join Diocletian post-‘Gesundrian‘. The Krucyator released compilation ‘Incursions‘ (2019) did well to collect and contextualize the pre-LP era of the band via an across the board remaster of each demo and EP up to that point, this is still the best way to get the gist of how the band developed in the moment as a chaotic warband pathing their way through grinding blackened bestial death munitions.

Back in 2017 I’d viewed the Dark Descent released debut LP (‘Death Ordinance‘, 2017) from Heresiarch as a symptom of a rare period of black/death uproar that’d bring a boon of ears to New Zealand’s war metal assault thanks to the island’s shared hands in terms of production values and musicianship upping the standard, which in terms of this sub-genre sector suggests deserved nods to stylized work and sound design rather than refinement. Their debut LP essentially made good on the band’s development from birth ’til longplayer even if in the midst of many line-up changes. If looking for precedence between then and now I’d suggest Side B of ‘Death Ordinance‘ holds the most weight of expectation wherein the grinding death pulse and slight abstraction of movement found its greatest focus on that impressive second half of the record. The adept sense of pacing doubles on ‘Edifice‘, more-or-less its strongest feature as they appear to lean into the death metal lane more often for effect.

In the years between… the band was essentially rebuilt by 2018 with the rhythm section steadied and we’ve thus far gotten two split releases since. I believe the split w/Antediluvian (‘Defleshing the Serpent Infinity‘, 2020) acts as clear enough preamble in presenting the grinding, bestial death metal focus of Heresiarch going forward with “Excarnation” focusing more on the direction of the riffs cut rather than the chaotic wallop of it all. Four years later much has been refined since, production values in particular, yet we start to finally get a grasp on what has constantly evolved in their hands and what characterizes these fellowes’ work as we fully immerse into the vortex of ‘Edifice‘. The short of it is basically if your taste in the war metal spectrum of black/death metal leans towards death metal and early grindcore inspired aggression this album should be entirely fulfilling for its focus on the riffs.

Droning yet brutal in its introductory excitation opener “Forged Doctrine” appears as if in mid-conversation, a momentum upheld which will make more sense when/if the whole of ‘Edifice‘ is left on repeat. I’d taken this as a reintroduction to wrath, a public brandishing of weaponry to intimidate and a sensation upheld by the interstitial dread of the brief interlude (“Manifest Odium”) that follows. The surreal trampled-out chop of “Noose Above the Abyss” is arguably the most grind-oriented cut to start and must’ve been chosen for its escalation of the nauseated sensation of the opener expanded before the first of many slower-paced reveals tempers the piece into harrowing nigh death/doom metal fusion. A foreboding, tragedian lead strikes across the gloom and we’ve essentially gotten preview of the dynamic Heresiarch explores throughout their presentation here and of course this stands out readily as a brilliant correction upon the trudging cranked-to-eleven sameness of war metal. Consider this shifting of sands as similar to that of Embrace of Thorns evolution from ‘Atonement Ritual‘ to ‘Praying for Absolution‘ but with different context and severity on the death metal side of things.

With this momentum built in somewhat quick, frantically shifting form the piece to set the stage beyond mayhem is “Gloryless Execution” a violent pace-setting song which unlocks the door to the even more vital and far more focused depths of “Tides of Aggression” which grinds in slow, glowering Immolation-esque arcs before finding its wrathful death metal edge beyond the midpoint. Making good on the name of the piece as its damned arc of destruction continues to punish without rest, we drag our boots into the dirt screaming into Side B with another album highlight, “A World Lit Only by Fire”. Two general scenes appear in this narrative wherein the groaning of architecture caught aflame muses over a brutal past before the zoomed-out view of missile struck devastation deploys a scorched earth tactic, bringing in dark ambiance to finish the thought. The juxtaposition of moods and carpet-bombed drumming of this song create a new peak within the finessed sense of pace compounded throughout the full listen, a dynamic which only appears to begin to explore its potential throughout this ~42 minute, ten song experience.

The surreal sense of grandeur conveyed throughout the full scope of ‘Edifice‘, between harried bile-splattered blasts and slowly roared-out doom, comes to a head within the a formidable killing finale wherein a duo of pieces, starting with the slugged-out introductory dirge of “Hubris and Decline”, soon gives way to one of the most complete and best representative songs Heresiarch have put together to date. “Militate Pyrrhic Collapse” has a bit of everything these folks excel at on this record from the cold-hammered aggression behind the kit to the warmed-over semi-melodic lightning strikes of riff and the doomed yet declarative posture upheld in alternation,,, there is no mistaking the skillful practicum of these methods in action as well as their driven affect. The listening experience is greatly enhanced by smaller details otherwise, such as the direct loop back to the beginning of the album, forcing a natural ouroboric loop into spiraling immersion and probably more uninterrupted full listens than expected on my part. Again, you won’t find me fully behind a record in this style that doesn’t primarily tout its death metal bound action first and foremost but in this case the tragedian nuclear glow threaded throughout the experience adds to the distinction available to their work.

If you’d headed into this album looking for a sub-half hour wall of noise with a few staccato blasts to break up the action you’ll find a far more advanced, transcendent step beyond any plain primitivity within ‘Edifice‘ though it has its gorier moments here and there. Though the violence explored herein is mayhemic Heresiarch have taken a leap beyond the usual strictures of bestial black/death metal and created their own tonal dramatism which is tensile beyond the usual fabric one’d go in expecting and this makes for a standout release, a notable and repeatable listening experience which feels appropriately advanced per the number of years between major releases. For my own taste it is a standout in its realm and a meaningful follow-up several years removed from their initial point of notoriety. A high recommendation.

---