Photo by Anne O’Neill
Invisible Oranges is currently streaming The Katechon And The Unending Fire, the stunning debut EP from PYRKAGION. The premiere comes in advance of the EP’s official unveiling this Friday, August 18th via Cestrum Nocturnum Recordings.
Kindled in 2019 by Z Wise (Hissing) and D Desmond (Bell Witch) and joined by B Butler (Human Effluence) soon thereafter, PYRKAGION was born out of a desire to hear sounds that lay dormant in contemporary black metal. Conceptually imbued with the element of fire and bolstered with sermonic end-of-days vocals, PYRKAGION‘s apocalyptic widescreen vision forms massive, jagged structures, reflecting ribbons of flame into the imminent surrounding darkness. Wise and Desmond (primarily bassists) both take up guitars as their focus with the intention of evolving beyond the musical dimensions of their previous bodies of work. Butler’s frenzied, suffocating drumming intertwines with Desmond’s searing leads and Wise’s labyrinthine compositions to reveal dire black metal revelations. Several years in the making, PYRKAGION‘s harrowing 2023 EP, The Katechon And The Unending Fire, sets the stage for the great and terrible things to come.
Writes Invisible Oranges in part, “Though each member of the trio hails from quite different edges of the extreme music galaxy, at least as far as the aforementioned projects are concerned, they’ve come together on debut EP The Katechon And The Unending Fire to create two cavernous compositions that explore divine judgment and religious fanaticism through the medium of black metal… In taking their time assembling the project (with some help from the pandemic), PYRKAGION have crafted a singular version of black metal that makes nimble use of genre tools such as raw production without bogging down in pastiche. This is an unsparing EP in terms of sonic approach. However, there are still enough moments of melody amid the vicious vocals and guitars, and Butler’s drumming throughout is superb, serving as a guide rope from squalls of noise to mid-tempo riffs…”
Stream the EP, alongside an in-depth interview with the band, exclusively at Invisible Oranges HERE.
The Katechon And The Unending Fire was recorded by the band, mixed by Dylan Haseltine (Suffering Hour), and mastered by Greg Chandler (Esoteric). The EP will be released on cassette and digitally.
Find preorders at the Cestrum Nocturnum Recordings Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION.
“Clearly PYRKAGION has benefitted from ignoring the hard boundaries of stylistic convention: these makers of the slowest, scariest, and grossest forms of metal have combined to write a truly haunting novella.” – Bandcamp Daily
“Between the art direction, the ‘ready strong render, and the particularly fiery musicianship on hand PYRKAGION have made a choice first impression with this tape with all signs pointing to larger looming beasthood in the future” – Grizzly Butts
