Ancient VVisdom
Sacrificial (Magic Bullet)Ancient VVisdom seduced locals and beyond almost immediately with distinctive folk metal, like a sensitive singer-songwriter that data-dumped Black Sabbath instead of Bob Dylan. Three LPs in, acoustic textures survive only as intros and interstitials, as erstwhile Austinite Nathan Opposition (now relocated back to his native Cleveland) and crew wade ribcage-deep into steely death rock. Though unabashedly heavier than before, Sacrificial stays the thematic course of the band’s prior albums, using LaVeyan Satanism as a method of surviving modern times. “I am here to do the devil’s work,” Opposition croons, but he’s not talking about ritual murder. Instead, AVV embraces chaos as the way of the world, passing through the wormhole of self-destruction to reach enlightenment on the other side. Buy into that philosophy or don’t; it’s certainly less goofy than the cartoon devil worship of most black metal bands. Yet don’t discount the power of the band’s new direction, as chugging riffs push “Blood Offering” and “Blind Leading the Blind” into accessible territory. Opposition claims “We Are Damnation” and that “Chaos Will Reign,” but you’ll be too busy strapping on the air guitar to worry about Ancient VVisdom’s worldview clouding judgment day. 
This article appears in November 21 • 2014.
