Photo by Lani Lee
“Like Celtic Frost before them, BLACK ANVIL find ways to summon profound darkness without tapping into black metal clichés. Their latest ebbs and flows with effortless grace.” – Pitchfork
Today, Vice’s music portal Noisey is streaming As Was, the forthcoming new studio offering from New York City’s BLACK ANVIL, in its engrossing entirety. Hailing As Was‘ “evil riffs, vicious grooves, and an uncharacteristic abundance of soaring clean vocals,” the stream comes in advance of the record’s official unveiling this Friday via Relapse Records.
Listen to over fifty-minutes of thought-provoking, modern black metal alongside an in-depth interview with bassist/vocalist Paul Delaney courtesy of Noisey RIGHT HERE.
January 13th, 2017 marks the worldwide release of As Was via Relapse Recordsr on CD, 2xLP, and digital formats. Physical preorders and bundles are available via Relapse.com HERE and digital downloads can be preordered via Bandcamp at THIS LOCATION.
Atmospheric and melodic without relenting any of the ferocity BLACK ANVIL has always been known for, As Was seamlessly weaves through eight monumental passages of extreme metal art. More diverse, complex, and thought-provoking than anything they’ve released previously, As Was is a stellar representation of modern black metal, and of BLACK ANVIL‘s continuous progression and songcraft. As Was was recorded at Menegroth by Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts, Panopticon) with mixing and mastering done by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio (Tribulation, Funeral Mist, Watain), and features cover art by Metastazis (Behemoth, Watain, Morbid Angel).
In a recent investigation of the record, Pitchfork notes, “Like Celtic Frost before them, BLACK ANVIL find ways to summon profound darkness without tapping into black-metal clichés. Their latest ebbs and flows with effortless grace.” Clrvynt crowns the record BLACK ANVIL‘s, “most ambitious effort yet.” In a 9.5/10 score, Progressive Music Planet concurs calling As Was, “an absolute masterpiece,” further elaborating, “The songs are epic and while sometimes they get into that fast paced, over-the-top black metal style, frequently they rely on atmosphere and melody to add incredible dynamics to the music.” In an 8/10 verdict, Dead Rhetoric lauds the band’s, “best effort to date,” while Echo Eyes writes, “Anytime a group can so seamlessly intertwine the brutality of black metal with melodic undertones that could find their way into an epic soundtrack, then that is something truly memorable; BLACK ANVIL and their album As Was is just such a release.”
BLACK ANVIL will tour North America beginning later this month alongside black metal legends Mayhem and Inquisition. See all confirmed dates below.
BLACK ANVIL w/ Mayhem, Inquisition:
1/20/2017 Club Solda – Montreal, QC
1/21/2017 Phoenix Theater – Toronto, ON
1/22/2017 Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
1/23/2017 Metro – Chicago, IL
1/24/2017 Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
1/25/2017 Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
1/27/2017 Gothic Theater – Denver, CO
1/28/2017 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
1/30/2017 Marquee – Calgary, AB
1/31/2017 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
2/02/2017 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
2/03/2017 Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
2/04/2017 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
2/06/2017 Social Hall SF – San Francisco, CA
2/07/2017 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
2/08/2017 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
2/10/2017 Alamo Music Hall – San Antonio, TX
2/11/2017 Trees – Dallas, TX
2/13/2017 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
2/14/2017 Throne Theater – Wilmington, NC
2/15/2017 The Howard Theater – Washington, DC
2/16/2017 Theatre Of The Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
2/17/2017 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
2/18/2017 Royale – Boston, MA
2/19/2017 Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
BLACK ANVIL released Time Insults The Mind on Monumentum/Reflections Records in September 2009, and later that year signed to renowned independent label Relapse Records. After a re-release of their acclaimed 2009 debut, BLACK ANVIL unleashed their first proper full-length Triumvirate in September 2010. Recorded with engineer “General” George Fullan (The Rolling Stones, Dream Theater) at Mark “The Animal” Mendoza’s (Twisted Sister) Diamond Drop Studio on Long Island, New York, Triumvirate received critical acclaim. Pitchfork even stated, “BLACK ANVIL‘s an amazing live band… and their songwriting’s as strong as their stage presence.”
Triumvirate was followed in 2014 by Hail Death, a seventy-minute journey of intensity that further established BLACK ANVIL as a modern black metal powerhouse and was praised by publications including Noisey, Pitchfork, Stereogum, MetalSucks, and many more. Constantly bringing their live ritual to the masses, BLACK ANVIL has participated in numerous high profile tours with black metal legends such as Watain, Urfaust, and Marduk, as well as dates with Aura Noir, Nachtmystium, Immortal, Eyehategod, Cannibal Corpse, and others.
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