The Ark Work

Well, as I did my math homework while listening to this album- I have came to two major conclusions:

1. Differential calculus is a pain in the ass
2. This album sucks

How this band has degraded its musical level so tragically is a mystery. If you don't mind their atrocious debut EP, Rennihilation is a pretty damn great album, and the album that came after it wasn't that bad. Tracks like Harmonia, Generation, and Sun Of Light proved themselves as some of the best Liturgy songs ever. But then this album came out. There were no cheap horn sounds in the former albums, nor fappy electronic "experimenting", nor shitty moany vocals. And HHH delivered some really harrowing BM screams and riffs as well. So what the fucking hell went wrong with this album? Did the band dwell in so many thrift stores and Starbucks' until their brains fully degenerated? This is a mystery to a lot of old Liturgy fans.

As stated before, the music's level is so damn LOW. The "experimental" sections here overpower the few good parts of the album, which is quite a pity, because most of the tremolo riffs here are actually above decent- and so is the drumming. We all know that Greg Fox is a beast on the drumset, right? Well fuck it HHH! Why are the guitars and the drums so low on the mix, and instead, the fake horn sounds and that endless moaning sound you make overpower everything else on this album?! WHY?!

The best tracks in this album are Follow and Follow II. They are both pretty solid, and prevent this album from being a total disaster. Both have the fewest experimental noodling sections of the album (which were made bearable this time!), with both having pretty tight drumming, great riffs, and an overall great atmosphere. But don't get the general idea of this album from only these two songs- because there are tracks like Quetzalcoatl (which could've been really good if not the moans), and Fanfare. The rest of the songs had a great potential for being pretty good, with the best example being Father Vorizen.

Reign Array deserves a place in the "10 Most Useful Things Hipsters Have Ever Done To the World" because it's pretty good and I can feel some epicness in this, as well as an audible bass! But fuck this! HHH's vocals ruin it again! If he delivered his trademark "5 year old girl throwing a tantrum" BM shrieks (which I actually like) then the album's score would've been WAYYY higher.

Oh wait, let's not forget Vitriol.

This song wasn't included in the worst song list of the album below, because it is a few levels above. It's literally (pun intended) a sonic epilepsy attack. I fucking can't listen to this song anymore. The prisoners in Guantanamo bay shouldn't be tortured only with Justin Bieber, but with this song as well. It's like an "upgraded" Glass Earth, which candidates as one of the worst pieces of music the hipster BM scene has ever released. I can imagine the disgrace on Deafheaven's and Ghost Bath's face when they have heard this. It's a new level of musical poverty. There is the same moany chorus that was featured on Glass Earth, but instead of being only the "WEEEEWEEEEEWEEEEOOOWEEAAAYYYY" it had, now it features lyrics about kids with ADHD! This song, with its twin brother Glass Earth, have made it to the top of my list of the top most pretentious pieces of sonic torment ever created. At least the song after Glass Earth was really good (and borrowed a few riffs from the Adolescents, but this is forgivable). But instead of making my high hopes for that song really worthy, Total War is pretty shitty as well. Good job Liturgy.

Although it has a few good moments, they are rare and are overpowered by terrible musicianship, "philosophical" lyrics, and a shitty production job. Avoid this album. Listen to Rennihilation instead.