Last we encountered Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze, they dwelt in relative obscurity, creating a dark marriage of ritualistic atmospheric black metal and unabashed social platforms – anti-fascist and anti-capitalist – in the Colorado trio’s debut Offerings of Flesh and Gold. The trio has since sharpened and solidified their stance, that the act exists “as a knife pointed to the throat of any who seek to maintain oppressive systems of white supremacy and fascism that continue to fester in our societies.” Lyrics are layered with the occult, furthermore enhancing the obscure sound they proffer. Pulsing percussion, patient ambiance, thunderous doom, and cathartic explosions of vicious black metal are all fed through the jaws of ritualism in sophomore effort The Fractal Ouroboros – even more so than its predecessor.
Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze manages to create a mammoth hour-and-fifteen length that takes its precious time before crushing your soul with calculated second-wave intensity. The swell and lull of its atmosphere has its time and place, thus lending The Fractal Ouroboros its immense but supremely organic feel, each track moving fluidly among its influences and giving each track a unique identity to fuse into the tapestry of the album’s pitch-black palette and atmosphere – dark and unholy places constructed under godlike suns. Tracks like opener “Trophy,” “Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash,” and closer “Ekstasis, Enstasis, and The Fractal Ouroboros” feature pummeling black metal passages, sinister atmosphere, and minimalist passages of plucking and thunderous percussion, giving climax and violence to the dense ambiance.
Because the album takes its time at well over an hour, the atmosphere must be front and center. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze does not disappoint in this regard, weaponizing an array of synth tricks to concoct such a relentlessly dark aura throughout. “A History of Cages and Broken Bones” and “Our Overt Apocalypse” are mammoth tracks of jolting doom and scathing tremolo that crash through the thick ambiance, while fiery vocals guide the movements. The quiet climaxes of “Annihilation” and “Liberation Ritual” showcase the stolen weight of the darkness, dwelling heavy and dense smoke-filled atmosphere, existential dread coursing through every fiber of the slow-burning movements. The ambient swell of the former transitions neatly into the shamanistic drumming of the latter, constructing a darkened tabernacle that feels more authentic and human, a whisper, than its explosive tendencies.
While Offerings of Flesh and Gold was an immensely promising offering, Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze becomes another beast entirely with The Fractal Ouroboros. The trio previously dwelt in dark atmospheres, pulsing percussion, and second-wave expressions – a powerful but relatively predictable album of atmospheric black metal. However, tracks like “Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash” and “Annihilation” blindside listeners with an animalistic ferocity and shimmering fury that contrasts with the tidy spiritual trademark of shamanism that pervaded their last album. While its message is anything but obscure, the dichotomy of its activism and its maddening take on black metal ensures that inequality and injustice will not be left unpunished. Had The Fractal Ouroboros been given an earlier release date, it would have listed everywhere, because it cements Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze as one of the most dangerous acts in contemporary black metal.
Tracks to Check Out: ”Suffocate O Earthen Lungs; They Now Lungs of Ash,” “Annihilation,” “A History of Cages and Broken Bones”
