LIVE REVIEW: Agriculture, Machukha @ Cluny 2 (07.09.25)

Image by Lee Fisher

I don’t know about black metal, but I do know what I like, which is to say I couldn’t tell you the difference between blackened, symphonic or technical black metal. But when Agriculture tell you they’re ecstatic black metal, you best believe they’re ecstatic black metal (L-U-V).
But first up, it’s German-Ukrainian five-piece Machukha, who play in near-darkness and with total commitment. They make sense as touring partners for Agriculture because they also weave disparate elements into their sound, although perhaps not quite as successfully. They have a strong sense of mood and drama, but too often the quieter interludes felt overlong and dissipated their energy and the occasional sax just sounded out of place. But when they went into top gear it was impressive stuff, with Natalya’s vocals sounding sincerely anguished rather than ‘I’m a scary demon’-affected.

Over the last few years, San Francisco label The Flenser has hit on a rich seam of bands offering their own takes on noise rock, black metal and the rest. From the toxic sludge of Chat Pile to the haunted blackgaze of Midwife, a remarkable amount of the interesting guitar stuff emerging from the states is down to the label, and Agriculture fit in just fine. As their merch says, Agriculture offer us the ‘spiritual sound of ecstatic black metal’, and I’m grabbing it with both hands. They’re an unassuming bunch, barely fitting anyone’s idea of what a black metal band look like and tonight they’re softly spoken, humble, yet somehow they’re also absolutely fucking thrilling. There’s no doubting their black metal bona fides but the ecstatic part of their sound – that epic, rousing, soaring guitar noise – calls to mind the anthemic parts of Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai and lifts what they do to another level. When the four of them lock into a riff, Leah and Dan trading throat-shredding vocals and drummer Kern sounding absolutely huge, they properly roar, but there’s room for so much more: Sabbath riffs, lurching noise rock, a mastery of space and tension and dynamics. Both Leah and Dan contribute lovely, sweet vocals at times (Dan clearly hiding a fully folk-rock singer-songwriter guise under his voluminous beard) and their songs have movements in a way that reminds me a little of Fucked Up in the willingness to experiment with structure. And then there are the lyrics – poetic, empathetic, full of nature, Buddhism, community – that set them apart from the usual preoccupations of the genre. They close with an absolutely breathtaking run through Living Is Easy and seem genuinely touched by the reaction of the audience. They shouldn’t be – Agriculture are awesome.