Band:	Reverence
Album:	The Asthenic Ascension
Style:	Black metal, Industrial metal
Release date:	April 09, 2012
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Earth
02. Darwin's Black Hall
03. The Descent
04. Psalm IV
05. Ghost Of Dust
06. Cold Room
07. Genesis Of Everything
08. Those Who Believed
09. The Asthenic Ascension

If you haven't noticed by now, France is fast becoming a hot-spot for experimental black metal. Over the past 10 years the ears of several unsuspecting victims have been all but abrogated by the likes of Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord, S.V.E.S.T., Diapsiquir, Peste Noire... and now, Reverence.

Furthering their expedition on the path of industrial black metal, eradicating preconceptions of standards and traditions along the way, The Asthenic Ascension is an invasion on the most intimate level, ravaging your body without remorse, stripping you bare and leaving with the last ounce of dignity you had left. Using as many of its esoteric resources as possible at any one time, the somewhat jazzed-out potency of the industrial drum patterns empowers the preternatural riffs with a sense of marvel and beauty that contradict the utter disgust permeating Luciferia's diaphragm.

In other words, prepare for a challenge. And don't expect the all-too-cliché beginner's luck to help you out. The final minute of "Psalm IV" should give you a better understanding of what's in store for you.

Composition-wise Reverence share a great deal in common with the black metal juggernaut that is Deathspell Omega, with an emphasis on doing things differently almost for the sake of it: the ultimate "fuck you" to the listener. And if you're really observant, you'll be fortunate enough to interpret the Blut Aus Nord vibes. Keep up if you can, because musicians like this don't look in the rear-view to see who's fallen by the wayside. You think you're getting some traditional dissonant black metal riffing? How about a technically driven improvisational melody held at bay by an ensemble of cathartic chants to mess with your head. That's the kind of storm you're going to weather here. And it's the kind of storm that can tear down an entire city in less than an hour.

Once you begin the journey into this textural, bombastic monstrosity of an album, you'll soon discover the eerie backdrop isn't a disguise, but a reality - a presence, something genuine and tangible, the same way a wraith might clutch at your throat with jagged sickly fingers. The hypnotic... hazy... guitar work and chaotic... storytelling approach will dumbfound... and intoxicate before luring you in to --