Archgoat - All Christianity Ends EP

Christianity ends but the party has just begun.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on April 30th 2022)  

Archgoat has taken to spoiling us lately it seems. Just last year we had the pleasure of listening to Worship the Eternal Darkness, one of their best albums to date, and just 5 months later, we have the All Christianity Ends EP. The Finnish trio has been quite productive lately it seems, and thankfully it’s not a case of quantity over quality. Truth be told, I didn’t expect this EP to be anything mind-blowing, but to my surprise it ranks among their better short releases alongside Angelcunt and Angelslaying…, which is quite a tall order.


Contrary to the “A career in review” approach of their latest album, All Christianity Ends takes things all the way back to Whore of Bethlehem sonically. This is the closest Archgoat has been to that raw war metal sound in quite some time, and as much as I like their work in general, I can’t say that I don’t miss that particular era of the band. The primitive riffs are brought out in full force here and to say that they crush is an understatement. The neck-snapping transitions in “Ascension Towards the Promethean Fire” and “The Semen of Anti Mastery” from the more ripping segments to the down-tempo crushers are like candy, and that one riff on the former, with the chants and the keys? Priceless. This EP is just 17 and a half minutes of distilled intensity and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The production is also stripped back, hearkening back to the much-lauded debut, its lo-fi aesthetics fitting the music perfectly. The guitars have a good amount of buzz to them, yet avoid turning into white noise and maintain some definition, while the drums maintain a very powerful presence all around. In particular I enjoy the cymbals’ splashing in tandem with the snare’s pop, they are just loud enough to add to the music’s chaotic nature but not to the point of obscuring the rest of the instruments. As for the kicks, they demolish, a given for Archgoat at this point. Only problem in all this is the absence of bass, which can only be heard during the slower moments here, and even then it’s not particularly noticeable.
I really don’t have many complaints about this EP. Sure, it’s a bit one note, but then again it’s not particularly long, and it thankfully doesn’t overstay its welcome. All Christianity Ends is a love letter to those who enjoy the band’s earlier output, and is guaranteed to satisfy anyone looking for a healthy dose of primal and brutal black metal. I mean, they even used their original logo for this, if that doesn’t show an appreciation for the fans I don’t know what does.
Highlights: Ascension Towards the Promethean Fire, The Semen of Anti Mastery

Rating: 86% 

 

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