TRIACANTHOS Apotheosis DIGIPAK [CD]

PURITY THROUGH FIRE is proud to present TRIACANTHOS' striking debut album, Apotheosis, on CD format.

Hailing from Austin, Texas, the germ of what would eventually become TRIACANTHOS first grew roots in 2013 when drummer and then-vocalist Lord Frost began collaborating with Imazapyr on guitar. Together, they refined and honed their sound over several years, resulting in one EP released on Red River Family and a single show to the original lineup's credit in February 2019. Things continued to take shape and form with the addition of Thornicator on bass and lead vocals shortly thereafter. They forged ahead as a three-piece, sharing the stage with such acts as Horna, Vale, Master, and Black Vice. After much delay and false starts, the trio completed their full-length debut, Apotheosis.

With the band's moniker meaning the Latin species name for the honey locust tree, bearing the thorns used for the crown of Christ, it's entirely fitting that TRIACANTHOS' Apotheosis is a piercing work of epic-yet-catchy black metal born from the cauldron of olde. Both stridently martial and lithe 'n' loose, the power-trio erect towers of alternately majestic/melancholic might. TRIACANTHOS' march across Apotheosis is, in fact, deceptively brisk: iron-fisted power is felt rather than merely "told" to the listener, and each of the album's ten central compositions ensnare with equally deceptive ease despite the generally generous length. The album's production, in kind, is bravely clear and cutting, jettisoning withering rawness in favor of a gleamingly bright blade. Their sword strikes thus cut that much deeper, all concluding with a reverential cover of Judas Iscariot's "Eternal Bliss... Eternal Death."

And while the pivotal '90s work of Judas Iscariot is indeed an apt reference, TRIACANTHOS' subtly medieval musings actually slot well alongside PURITY THROUGH FIRE's vanguard of German black metal, including the likes of EISENKULT, MEUCHELMORD, and VALOSTA VARJOON among others. Behold their Apotheosis!