"Agape" – a non-physical, self-sacrificing kind of love – is the basic concept of Lantlôs' third album. While its predecessor ".neon" posited a nearly violently negative reckoning with the trinity of reality – perception – self, and lyrically and musically revelled in surreal, cold visions, Lantlôs harness these visions into new channels on "Agape."
The oppressive element of a dark flight from reality has given way to a new poetic dimension: warm and yearning lyrics are contrasted with brutal visions that trace the thin line between love and perversion. This contrast is perfectly captured in music on "Agape": heavy walls of guitars alternate with gentle acoustic parts, the changes in tempo hover between dragging and pacing. In addition, "Agape" will surprise you with extensive instrumental passages with a soft and warm atmosphere which doesn't shrink back even from jazz. Counteracted by the harsh, strangely cold vocals courtesy of Neige (Alcest), the compositions seem devoid of sense, oppressing, and sombre: beauty reversed into its opposite.
This contradiction which is so aptly expressed in the lyrics and the music is complemented by the elaborate design. "Agape" makes a visual impression with Herbst's own paintings that unite idiosyncratic thought bytes with nightmarish visions.
On the one hand, "Agape" is a radical departure from Post Black Metal, while on the other, it is also its consistent further development. An open contradiction in a lyrical, musical, and visual dimension, this work creates a vicious circle and at the same time neutralises itself. What remains is emptiness of a new quality.
Limited 2CD Super Jewelcase with extended booklet
