BRUCIA
This London-based multinational collective have been unhurriedly eking out a career in black metal’s deep underground since 1999, when their quirky cacophony tended toward the millennial cyber-industrial end of the spectrum. 2021’s The Hollow Man let tremolo-picked Norwegian BM purism run amok across a Requiem Mass on an alien penal colony, disparate parts dovetailing like crossed frequencies in eerie sync. With founding guitarist Matt Jarman assembling an all-new line-up in the subsequent two years, sounds and styles are layered more sparingly on Jadjow, forswearing orchestral bells and whistles with a greater focus on the stripped-back basics of guitar/drums/voice. It’s still wonky black metal, frequently at lightning speed, but contemplative and playful rather than mercilessly antisocial, with a clean, bright sound, mellow/sedated vocals, beguiling melodies, plus orthodox touches of Viking-era Bathory –and this newfound accessible approach works a treat.