The inherent deception of existence, all that is veiled by illusions of identity and control, throbs in mind as if temple-bound mantra for Torun, Poland-based black metal quartet ANGRRSTH‘s latest meditation upon fate and what’d delude the mind away from the truth of mortality on this well-evolved sophomore full-length album. A hymnal installation of high-emotive nihil from dread-scourged minds ‘Złudnia‘ crawls beneath the skin per its self-flaying, mirror-set glare unto deterministic spiral. Within this pit conjured by a fast tunneling introspective psyche we find an inspired-yet-affected series of bleakest atmospheric black metal pieces which produce their own inspiring uproar amidst echoing calls for greater inner despair.

Angrrsth formed as a quartet circa 2018 by way of folks with broad involvement in various Polish black, death, and thrash metal scenes with some resumes stretching as far back as the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Their first EP (‘Znikąd‘, 2018) featured a different drummer but it spongey, rocking melodic black metal sound and dual guitar interplay available to those pieces spoke to experience, high capability and a knack for strangely tuneful insertion into black metal constructs. While I’d liked that first release it was almost black n’ roll adjacent and I’d much preferred their more focused debut full-length album (‘Donikąd‘, 2021) which I’d had the chance to premiere, describing it as “Epic, atmospheric, riff-heavy black metal that is shockingly memorable yet still brutally extreme when it counts.” and this was sort of in the spirit of Poland’s modern black metal invaze from talented bands like Totenmesse, Czort, and Entropia (among others) who value a unique bent upon (oft melodic) black metal sounds with a sort of post-metallic glow set around their production values.

If you appreciated the synth warmed, blackened death fuming into the band’s split with Czort back in 2023 and the adventurous intensity sustained on those two pieces you’ll find a direct relation to the style which ‘Złudnia‘ opens with. Though these recordings feature a new drummer in Jakub Wieczerzycki (Maze of Feelings, Varmia) his performances pick up immediately at that high standard on opener “Kolejgna petla”, pushing its almost second wave era pagan metal stride and upward hummed keyboards/synth into a surprising opening piece which already signals a broadened rhythmic approach. The interest only picks up from there for my own taste as “Mane, Tekel, Fares” has a sort of Furia whip to it and this carries over to the soaring tension of “Prog”, one of the best pieces on the album and a ranting, grouped-up affair which expresses in unruly waves as it blusters past, tapping into something like Bølzer or Nagelfar‘s (Germany) later era within the whipping sheets of riff and flailing tremolo-picked course of their rhythms. The major voice of this album and its biggest moments find core invention within this song, a stance which it continues to develop its expression within the next two songs.

Title track “Złudnia” fittingly sets the tone at the epicenter of the album and its resonance specifically for its oddly yearning, dissociative cleaner vocal tones and wandering movement. Though it leans into its plod in the second half it does well to characterize the full listen of ‘Złudnia‘ as speaking to more than plain malice and aggression. I’d felt this tonal shift was linked to more naked self-examination, a question of escapism and identity arisen in a broader sense. Read the lyrics for clarity by your own will, auto-translate should convey the greater mood and theme of the language used. Otherwise the “clean” vocals on the title track are generally the revelation of this album and help to pull even more interest toward “Amor Fati” right afterward, carrying an impressive streak of songs right across the middle of Angrrsth‘s canvas. Folks who’re only interested in the strictures of black metal classicism will probably be least comfortable with this middle portion of the album but from my perspective it is a breakthrough which shouldn’t alienate anyone who’d ‘ready had the fortitude to stick around that long.

“How it all flows together” is one of the biggest points of praise I’d plant upon the full listen of ‘Złudnia‘ as the whole of the experience unfurls from death-struck black metal trample toward splash-heavy, veering dramatism. There really isn’t a bad song, irritant or lacking performance within earshot here and it makes for a cohesive yet still broadly experiential modern black metal album. I’d found every spin of Angrrsth‘s discography doubly redeeming when revisited and this is likewise true of this latest album. It took a handful of more attentive listens to fully appreciate the shape and seizure of it all but the end result manifested in mind quickly. A high recommendation.

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