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All the euphoria, spiritual ascent, and power in heavy sonic art radiates with blinding energy from the sophomore release by this self-described "ecstatic black metal" ensemble based in Los Angeles.

The Spiritual Sound combines crushing weight with creative intricacies. Key track Bodhidharma rides a riff fit for a motorcycle crew, before a burst of static and screaming introduces a sad post-rock bridge section. The maligned art of the virtuosic guitar solo is spectacularly resurrected by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, whose soloing on this track and on standout Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the calm ballad Hallelujah showcases falling guitar notes played with childlike simplicity.

Songs such as Micah and Serenity are fast-paced hardcore punk, while the piece Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has slow-moving drone-metal fuzz rumbling along underneath its ethereal beauty. Melodies in black metal can often be either nonexistent or too complex, yet Agriculture’s riffs and hooks are bright and original, and closer the song The Reply even recalls a much heavier the band Radiohead.

Fans of post-metallers Deafheaven will probably love all this dynamic shifting and unabashedly gorgeous noise, particularly since Agriculture also feature two distinct singing approaches, divided here across two vocalists. One vocalist adds sporadic soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is the other vocalist, whose voice trembling on one track but splenetically caterwauling on other songs.

In typical black metal fashion, it’s hard to make out the words she sings, yet they are worth the effort: the narratives she sings about suicidal friends and social injustice are devastating, just like her search for meaning in a reality that inexorably bends towards conflict.