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by Doug Moore
West Virginia's Torrid Husk: are they old-school black metal? Are they modern death/black fusion? Does it matter? On their second release, the three-song EP Caesious, this upstart band has the musical and songwriting chops to make you forget about such petty distinctions. If they stick together and start touring, they'll do well for themselves.
We're streaming Caesious in full over at Invisible Oranges. From our writeup:
By black metal standards, Torrid Husk are fast. Drummer Tony Cordone is a powerhouse. His ability to throw in tricky change-ups and contrapuntal beats without breaking the flow reminds me of Maciej "Darkside" Kowalski from Mgla. And the string players put his skills to good use. A lot of black metal bands with really fast drummers just lay on the speed until you get bored and stop paying attention, but these three songs breathe. Melody and dissonance wrestle for position; feels and tempos shift impatiently; outside influences (mostly death metal and post-rock) peek into the frame. It's difficult music to sum up succinctly, which is part of why it's good.You can read the whole shebang (including some genuinely weird interview quotes) over at IO.