A.M.S.G couldn’t be more cold, grim and isolating if they tried. They capture the frosty, alienating tone of black metal perfectly, even if on Anti Cosmic Tyranny (Profound Lore), they don’t always have the songs to back up the atmosphere. Being honest, the first two songs sort of drift by. They aren’t bad, but they feel a bit long, and they don’t offer much that catches the ear. That said, the album is worth sticking with, because it really hits it’s stride on the third track, ‘Sacrificial Chants Of Cosmic Separation’. A.M.S.G know how to write a hypnotic, mid-paced riff, which is bound to catch the listener’s ear, and this song is abundant with them.

The following track, ‘Gnosis Granted From The Bloodline Of Fire’ maintains the quality of the previous track. There are more well composed mid-paced riffs that bring an almost doomy aura to the proceedings, as well as twisting lead guitar melodies that fans of Nightbringer should enjoy. There is also some interesting instrumentation towards the end of the track, what sounds like a brass instrument cuts through the walls of distortion, demanding attention. The songs on the album are all quite lengthly as well, ranging from 6-10 minutes. The two aforementioned tracks have no problem in justifying their length, but tracks like the first two on the album do seem to suffer because of their runtime. With that said, the longest track on the album,’ Blood Bone And Blackthor’n offers some of the finest riffs on the album, some of which almost gallop, bringing some energy to the album.

Overall, Anti Cosmic Tyranny is certainly recommendable to fans of the genre who are hungry for more. Despite the first two tracks, the rest of the album has plenty of interesting moments, and even if the songwriting feels a bit weak at times, the atmosphere A.M.S.G invoke is executed perfectly.

6/10

Tom Saunders

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