Vehemency
Three years after Whore of Bethlehem, Archgoat is back with another album. The Light-Devouring Darkness is very much in the same vein as its predecessor: merciless underground black / death metal with transitions from slow to fast sections (most audible probably in ”Tribulation of the King of Worms”) and occasional atmospheric culminations accompanied with synths (”Goat and the Moon”).
There are a few differences, though. The most audible change is the production. Where Whore of Bethlehem was a really muddy mess (still in a good way), The Light-Devouring Darkness has relatively clean sound, giving the album more air to breathe. Luckily it’s still done in underground spirit, so it is crushing and raw.
As usual with albums of this kind, The Light-Devouring Darkness doesn’t bring anything new to the table. All the compositions are heavy as hell (the new production giving them even more power), and there’s not a lot to complain about. However, this album didn’t affect in such a striking and surpising way as the previous full-length, because Whore of Bethlehem came out of nowhere after such a long break. That is why The Light-Devouring Darkness doesn’t reach as far as its predecessor, but it doesn’t mean that the album sucks in any way.