Hailing from the darkened cobblestoned corridors of Vilnius, Lithuania, Sisyphean, while black metal at heart, offers much more than the status quo on their newest full-length album, Divergence. First forming in 2012 under the name Division before settling on Sisyphean in 2014, they apply a much more dissonant approach to their riffing without sacrificing the blackened foundations or the essence of a composed song, not to mention the vocals are absolutely venomous. It’s the kind of formula that would be right at home in the repertoire of any number of Icelandic bands–think Sinmara or Svartidauthi–with some Suffering Hour spice thrown in for good measure, and the songs never feel like you’re doing calculus homework. We’re premiering Divergence before it releases tomorrow. Stream it below.
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Clocking in at 42 minutes, Divergence is easily digestible and goes by deceptively quickly. With that said, it never morphs into background noise or becomes boring; across my several listens, I was struck by at least one standout moment on every song. Among these are the meaner-than-fuck first riff at the start of “Stupor Mundi”, the guitar solo in the back half of “Black Bird That Brings No Joy”, and the explosive first two minutes of “In Divergence.” Zooming out a bit, everything flows nicely. Clearly, Sisyphean had pacing in mind and were laser-focused on maintaining it. Divergence rewards multiple listens and reveals each song’s identity over time, but as a whole, provides a fresh and engaging approach to black metal that never loses its teeth or becomes muddled in its delivery; that, at its core, is still ferocious, razor-sharp, and compelling.
–Eric Wing
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Divergence releases tomorrow via Edged Circle Productions.
