There’s not even black metal in America, these days. Sure, there are plenty of notable acts that have made names for themselves over the decades, but it feels like every new act of black metal comes from everywhere except America, and luckily there are a few bands that are changing that with their approach. Out of all fifty states, Pennsylvania isn’t high on the list of place I’d expect, but charging out of Pittsburgh comes a band that has real potential to grow on all of us and Automb fucking knows that.

Normally, each band has specific flavors that make it stand out that are clearly taken from the band’s influences while then infused with their own vision. That’s most if not all music, obviously, but it’s with Automb that we see this quartet take influences from what feels like all over the board of classic, hard-hitting black metal as you can see and hear flavors of so many other bands at play here, but of course, it’s the personal additions given to us by Automb that makes “Esoterica” such a treat. Granted, this debut has plenty of room to be built upon and made even better, but “Esoterica” is just the sort of vicious modern black metal with subtle use of melody that brings all ten tracks together in an amazing package. It allows Automb to easily set themselves amongst the rest of black metal with their sound, but it’s the execution that makes my ears perk up with the seductive and riffs that you have to listen for a bit, but they’re well worth the effort as they really help make “Esoterica” the experience that it is. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but it’s with this record that we see black metal that takes the best of other acts with a little bit of that new band fire mixed in to make it just different enough to not be a blatant rip-off, and ultimately an engaging and immensely entertaining piece the likes of which many bands have attempted, but only a few have succeeded on a level like this.

It’s easy to take elements from many different influences and shove them into one record, but it’s with Automb that we see it done in top fashion. “Esoterica” is but the first stepping stone for this band, but if their clear fire is anything to go off of then this is an act that’s not to be ignored or underestimated in any form.

LISTEN to “Esoterica” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Automb on Facebook here.