An original take on the genre - 90%
（来自Metal Archives，作者Empyreal）
Talking about ‘originality’ in metal in 2019 is kind of a weird thing, because so often it just means incremental things, a few extra instruments used in gimmicky ways, or some other such thing. Metal as a whole hasn’t been about innovation for a while so much as it has been about sticking to what works. It’s been defined for decades, set into stone so thoroughly that any big deviations end up leaving the metal umbrella as a whole. Liturgy is one of the bands trying to buck that system. HAQQ is nothing if not a total subversion. The thing with extreme metal is that it was initially so jarring because of the sonic touchstones – the distorted guitars turned into a horror show, the vocals a larynx-tearing shriek. It was shocking for its time, but over time the common parlance has basically come around to be comfortable enough with it. Some bands take it pretty far, but if you’re into any kind of heavier music, the basic sound of a black metal album is pretty well known to you – it won’t make you sit up and really go what the hell. The Christian groups have moved on from protesting this and it’d hardly shock any parents anymore, since they all grew up with it as part of the cultural consciousness. On HAQQ, the band has found ways to keep you on your toes, with odd intentional glitch noises like your computer is freezing up – it’s so weird and I’d never think of doing it, which is what makes it fascinating that it works so well. There are also a bunch of actually beautiful flourishes like pianos and harps that are strangely disarming. Ironically these things kind of evoke what this style of music was about, being so brazenly put out there. HAQQ, and Liturgy as a whole, kind of inverts everything you’d expect from black metal, with a bright, major-key sound and, just when the heavy parts are getting too much, they break it up with a poppy melody or some kind of fluttering burst of instrumentation alien to metal. The yowling black metal screams are the closest sticking point to the traditional metal style, sort of an odd relic; like he couldn’t quite let go of the touchstones of the sound. That’s interesting to me. In between the actual songs, there are a bunch of piano interludes that go on for much longer than you’d expect, and it creates a definite feeling. This whole album evokes a complex feeling, a kind of jubilant pride. It’s definitely not the usual misanthropy and darkness, despite the aggressive attitude of some parts. This music is all in your face and the writing is jam-packed and claustrophobic, not giving you a moment to breathe. But every listen, I notice something new. There’s an intense musicality here, full of bells, strings and crashing heaviness, and the sound moves through apocalyptic mayhem into moments of actual beauty. This thing is almost blindingly epic, with the chaotic “HAJJ” being an almost torrential display, but then giving way to the graceful chaos of “VIRGINITY” and the swelling pomp of “PASQALIA.” Every song is compelling. It’s deliberately constructed stuff, obviously thought out to the extreme, which I can respect. I’d single out favorites, but the whole thing works as a cohesive piece of art. Much has been made of the ‘pretension’ behind the music, espoused by band leader Hunter Hunt-Hendrix. He calls the music ‘transcendental black metal,’ which I guess makes some fans of that genre mad because they think it’s derogatory or something. Granted, stating that your music “attempts to render the spirit of a cultural era whose basic fabric is unravelling, and to generate an energy of prophecy and love in the name of what is to come” isn’t exactly everyman-friendly stuff. And he gave an interview where he talked about the nature of his music and such. But I appreciate that he’s not pretending to be modest about it. False modesty is lame and it’s always weird to me how people act like any acknowledgment of one’s ambitions or success is some hifalutin pretentiousness. It’s like anybody that doesn’t say they hate themselves all the time is seen as disingenuous, which is lame to me. But anyway, if you like adventurous, wild and untethered creativity, Liturgy will be for you. It isn’t for die-hard traditional metalheads, but those who want something off-kilter and boundless, HAQQ is a damn feast and one of the best albums I’ve heard this year.
