AMIENSUS formed in Minnesota in 2010 as a project amongst friends, who self-released an EP that same year. It took three years for the band to develop into a full group that included expanding their lineup way beyond state lines to find the right talents and mindsets and release the atmospheric black metal must-have album “Restoration” in 2013. In 2020 AMIENSUS signed with Transcending Records to release the heralded “Abreaction.” That same lineup remains and has recorded the anticipated “Reclamation,” out April 26th on M-Theory Audio. The album has eight songs.

“Blink of the Moment” is first. The canvas they paint in the opening sequence is gorgeous, and with varied colors. The vocals are raging screams at times, and emotional cleans at others. The background is thick with underbrush, and the combination of the two competing styles hangs in suspension throughout the song. “Reverie” has a strong sense of melody out of the gates, with beautiful string arrangements, and the clean vocals are breathtaking. Nothing takes away from the hardened Metal elements, but that melody soars. “Senses Amplified” is another ravishing and graceful song, but roars up quickly with anger when it needs to. It’s the balance that the band is able to maintain that makes the song so special.

“Sun and Moon” also begins with smooth, ethereal clean vocals, and acoustic guitar and strings in tow. There is a darkness to the song, however, that mirrors the contrast between the sun and the moon. Once the sound starts to fill in, you can feel the haste building, but they hold back the fuse on the big explosion. “A Consciousness Throughout Time” is another song thick with callous Metal elements, but delightful melodies squeeze through the cracks. The vocal plead to the skies above with impassioned screams until he has no voice left to shout. It makes me feel sorrowful, but also energized to join in the fight. “Vermillion Fog of War” rages like a monsoon, covering everything with a deluge of thunder and rain. The clean vocals help the sun’s rays to break through the impenetrable wall of blackness however, as the storm rages with intensity.

“Spoke Into Will” begins with tranquil tones and harmonized clean vocals that transition to harsh tones and then toggle back and forth throughout the song, talking about “the anxiety of death,” and “speak it into will.” “Transcendence Through Grief” closes the album. It’s an instrumental that ducks in and out of grey skies that are darker at times, but the ride is mostly uneventful. This is an auditory journey like no other—a fusion of raging, intense black metal with glorious melodies that will ignite your soul. It's a sonic tempest, a whirlwind of ferocity and beauty that will leave you breathless and exhilarated. You'll be engulfed in the raw power of black metal, with blistering riffs and thunderous drums. Yet within, melodies soar and cascade, weaving a tapestry of beauty and emotion that transcends the brutality of the music. This is an early contender for “Album of the Year” for sure.