It’s all too easy to forget about the likes of one-man black metal artists who go it alone independently, not playing live and just occasionally popping up to deliver a new album. Arx Atrata is the work of Nottinghamshire based Ben Sizer and to date has released three previous and highly respected albums. We last heard of them with a split with Bleakwater Shrine and instrumental offshoot of his main outfit Arx Silvestris back in 2021. It has been silent since then until a short time ago a fourth album of atmospheric black metal was suddenly pinging into our inboxes. Simply presenting the music without huge fanfare or explanation about the whys and wherefores, it is a case of those who are so inclined to check it out. One thing that is expected is an intriguing and immersive listening experience into Ben’s journey which although no longer A Path Untraveled, is one that is likely to be enthused by the spirit of ancient Albion. A shortcut can be taken leading straight to the video of the title track taking in a medieval “burial mound among centuries-old oak trees,” if one is looking a snapshot of the entire album. However, it is of course best approached as a complete entity and one should prepare to set themselves up for the full 53-minute experience.
Mournful synth melody accompanied by guitar and drums melodically builds from the roots up as we enter this somewhat sylvan sounding domain at instrumental ‘To Sunder The World.’ The tremolo weaving increases as we then plunge into ‘I Was A Witness To His Passing.’ Craggy vocals join in and the pace settles in an unhurried fashion as a feeling of despondency, perhaps for times forgotten, settles with both graceful and majestic presence. There’s plenty of tones within the fronds of the music that shine and sparkle. They are present in both guitar and keyboard and really add to the emotions purveying a feeling that strikes as hopeful and proffer something that is not all quite doom and gloom. Struggle and battling through it are also present in the ruggedness and faster paced parts it all seems quite personal and with it there is nothing by way of explanation. The title track rolls in with drumming and bass tones that remind a fair bit of Primordial and fans of them as well as others such as Saor, Winterfylleth and Fen will no doubt find themselves at home here. Keyboard utilised to provide that cold frostiness and there’s no shortage of epic grandiosity and shimmering acoustic parts found amidst the trembling swagger of the song.
Although never quite shoegazy or quite what you could describe as ‘post black’ there are plenty of dream-laden passages cast among songs like ‘Mercy Unearned.’ There’s no problem hitting near to double figures on the length of some songs and although they sprawl, their growth is never stagnant and there’s plenty going on to keep the listener enraptured. Thickets entangle but are by no means impenetrable. We stumble upon nostalgic ‘Ruins Of The Past’ and emerge in the sombre domain of ‘The Witch.’ Although there is a touch of the fantastical I get the impression that titles like these should be taken metaphorically as much as anything else, that and the spell the music casts of course. It’s very much a solitary vision and one that is best approached alone as the final epic number ‘Our Dark Shadow’ wraps up the album like a grand old journey taken in isolation far away from the trappings of the modern and tumultuous times we live in. Forget your phones and GPS, pack an ordinance survey map and head out into the great unknown with this as your soundtrack and find yourself richly rewarded.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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