LA’s ecstatic black metal collective Agriculture have announced their second full-length album, The Spiritual Sound, due out on 3 October via The Flenser. The follow-up to their 2023 self-titled debut was produced by the band and mostly recorded and mixed by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, with additional engineering from Adam Hirsch, Colin Knight, and A.L.N. of Mizmor. The album also features guest vocals from Emma Ruth Rundle on the track The Reply.
The first single, Bodhidharma, is a sprawling six-minute track that blurs the lines between black metal, sludge, post-rock, slowcore, harsh noise, and even touches of prog and psych. The song is named after the founder of Zen Buddhism, a figure who also serves as a thematic touchstone for co-vocalist Dan Meyer’s lyrics across the album. A video for the track, featuring footage from Yokoji Zen Mountain Center in Southern California, is out now.
Listen to the first single Bodhidharma here:
Agriculture is also heading to the UK and Europe this September, followed by a North American run supporting Boris on their Pink 20th anniversary tour, and then a headline tour of their own. So far, the headline shows are mostly on the West Coast, but more dates are expected.
Since releasing their debut album in 2023, the band followed it up with the Living Is Easy EP in 2024. Meanwhile, Dan and co-vocalist Leah B. Levinson have both released solo records—Dan’s Kneeling explores shoegaze and atmospheric black metal. At the same time, Leah’s Ciao Bella dropped under her genre-spanning Cali Bellow project.
Tracklist:
01. My Garden
02. Flea
03. Micah (5:15am)
04. The Weight
05. Serenity
06. The Spiritual Sound
07. Dan’s Love Song
08. Bodhidharma
09. Hallelujah
10. The Reply