Norwegian extreme metal innovators EXTOL have ended one of the longer waits in the genre. "Aura Of Decay", the band's sixth full-length and first since their self-titled record of 2013, arrives November 6 via Solid State Records, with guitarist Christer Espevoll rejoining to restore the classic lineup.
The album was a slow build, and by the band's own account a sometimes painful one. Tracking was spread across Hawk Studios, Little Cave Studio and Hrada Creative before the record went to Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios for mixing and mastering. Hugh Syme — the artist behind decades of instantly recognisable sleeve work — handled the cover.
Musically, EXTOL are doing what they have always done: charting unfamiliar water without losing the signature that makes them identifiable within a few bars. The complex arrangements and unmistakable harmonic language are intact, and longtime followers will pick up echoes of the raw, black metal-tinged atmospheres of "Burial" scattered across the record.
Leading it off is "The One And The Many", a labyrinthine piece that views a polarised ideological landscape through the lens of an ancient philosophical problem. The music leans on erratic structures and jarring shifts to evoke psychological collapse; the lyrics probe how a collective society fractures into hostile tribes under postmodern fog.
"We are living in an era where truth feels relative, yet tribal dogmas seem to be strengthening," Espevoll said. "We wanted the song to mirror that confusion. It is an invitation to look beneath the surface noise of the internet and reflect on how sanctimonious religious and political practices are fed and kept alive by ideology."
Formed in Bekkestua in 1993, EXTOL built a reputation on fusing sonic violence with spiritual and philosophical themes, drawing as readily on technical death metal as on melodic and harmonic ideas the genre rarely touches. The band split in 2007, reunited for the 2013 album, and have been effectively dormant since.
"Aura Of Decay" track listing:
- The One And The Many
- Disintegrate
- Sanctum
- Merciless Hunger
- Vile Path
- Phantom Dismay
- Shield And Alibi
- Wrecked Within Walls
- Dimness Of Lingering Gloom
- Beneath The Dirt
- End Of Times
EXTOL is Peter Espevoll (vocals), Ole Børud (guitars, vocals, bass), David Husvik (drums, vocals) and Christer Espevoll (guitars).
Source: blabbermouth.net