Aglo is back on tracks.
After a first EP last year, the Australian one-man band created by Aaron Osborne (vocals/all instruments, Burn the Hostages, I Exist) announces the release of Into the Maze in 2023.
Into the Maze, the first track, unveils a slow and heavy but extremely catchy rhythm before cavernous screams come into play. The stifling sound accompanies this haunting march, welcoming some airy melodies before suddenly stopping, quickly taken over by Parasites, a similar track placing disturbing and dark harmonics in a greasy and heavy basis. We will also have some strange vocal samples before the final block, letting Darkened Mirror offer a more energetic and equally aggressive touch to its oppressive violence. Slowness will take possession of the devastating riffs again, then Collector will revive darkness with crushing elements coupled with heavy regularity and roaring bass. The track gradually fades out to leave Past, a very short composition, add some thick and strange riffs before The Journey Home, the last track, develops an ominous atmosphere coupled with an extreme slowness, which is as much found in riffs as in hazy vocal parts.
Aglo is all about raw efficiency. Don’t look for complexity in Into the Maze, the EP is definitely not created for that purpose, but you will rather find heavy, crushing and dark riffs that may haunt you.
75/100
