10th March 2024

Review: “Anomalia” by Agremorta

A blend of Alternative, Industrial and Progressive Metal, “Anomalia” is a concept record that combines an imaginative short story with sonic oblivion as the road to hell paved with good intention. It is the first creation of Agremorta, an outfit who compromise Macedonian multi instrumentalist Nikola Stanojkovski and American vocalist Christopher Cronce that came to life in the summer of 2023 and was completed with the help of a few friends. Aleksandar Stefanovski co-produced, mixed and mastered while additional bass from Stefan Stojkovski adds a shine. Stunning artwork from Javier Norton is the icing on the metaphorical cake. Given the geography between the musicians, none of this would be possible if it wasn’t currently the internet age…

As with the best of the Industrial Metal genre there is a deep rooted science fiction blueprint at the heart of “Obsidian Reveries“, the pulsating darkness of the instrumental introduction piece with its distorted voices and crushing guitars feeling like it’s something from a horror version of The Matrix. That bleeds to into “Ploratus Umbra” which surprises with bold, clean vocals during a first verse that expose another dimension to the sound of Agremorta before exploding into uncleans with clever use of vocal layering. Intense and heavy, these musicians have interwoven the beauty of the soaring moments of bands like Periphery with the ugly brutality of Igorrr in a way which shouldn’t work on paper but in reality is nothing short of stunning. Over the six and a half minute duration there is the feeling that this one wouldn’t be out of place as an accompaniment to scenes in a cinematic blockbuster, such is the depth and quality of the sound. There is even a little bit of Deathcore in the final verse with what sounds like a bitter rap scream that slaps you in the face like a woman scorned.

Another six minute surpassing magnum opus of a track, “Adrocitas” features a guitar solo from guest Louis Snyder and is once again stunningly diverse. Heavy and melodic moments push and pull the senses in all directions, sing-a-long chorus with bold cleans smashed into a million pieces by caustic unclean bursts of violence. Rich in a metaphor that brings to mind the tale of Icarus, a distinctive air of vulnerability exposed during a melodic passage before rising from that into to the sublime solo. There are also flavours of “Alien” era Northlane in “Vertex Membrana“, the introspective lyrical narrative a cathartic vent with a real grit to it. A rich, warm solo is short and sweet but it’s the crushing rhythmic dynamic with deep textural layers that really makes the tune something to help you breathe more easily. It is very much a cliché at this point but there are nuances buried underneath the weight of the sound that rise to the surface across multiple listens and they make the record a very rewarding repeated listen [8/10]

Track Listing