(The Kentucky-based black metal band Anagnorisis are returning after a long hiatus with their fourth album, Caregriever, which will be released on October 23rd. Below you will find Wil Cifer’s review of the album.)
After a ten-year absence, this project is back with its darkest work yet. Black metal should be the darkest of all genres, but it often gets caught up in blast-beats and obligatory occult posturing and misses the mark. Where this album succeeded lies in where Zachary Kerr drew inspiration from: The title refers to the emotional toll that was taken upon him by acting as the caregiver for his now-deceased father-in-law. This is why the demeaning tug on this album’s snarls plays so effectively, because it is real, much like how Blake Judd of Nachtmystium screamed his agonized guts out about his addiction. Real darkness outweighs appropriating esoteric terms you are not truly studied in, though American black metal does tend to be more street-wise and less LARPing.
photo by Matt Simpson Photography
This album serves as a morbid reflection committed to sound. It opens with a rabid rasp of “Choke,” a raw yet not underproduced crash of sonics. Things hit with more purpose on “Nothing Left to Give”. There is some fast-and-furious playing that doesn’t conform to the easy color-by-numbers blueprint for black metal. “Nothing Left to Take” builds into harrowing chaos. Electronic elements have a more defined prescence with “Death of Man” as a sample starting the narrative before more Skinny Puppy-like vocals come in. Industrial complements black metal enough for this to work. In fact, it’s one of the album’s strongest songs despite sticking to a droning groove.
“Death of Men” descends into a place that is darker and more tormented; this just happens to be the direction this album needs to head. The complex emotional layers involved in the subject matter are reflected in the complex layers of sound that create a hellish outpouring. It finds the drummer getting his legs under things to get the song moving. “A Living Grave” has the more shimmering Deafheaven-like sound. The use of sung vocals works well on this song. There is a little more punk in “Monuments in Ash”; it is less experimental than most of the previous songs, bringing a more metal and post-metal attack to your ears
From a production standpoint, they have achieved perfection, as it finds the balance of an organic sound that feels like guitars are running right into their amps and this is the sound being wrung from them, sometimes ringing out with a detached warmth. “Death of Me” felt like it was an extension of the previous song, so a sonic uniformity emerges even amid the experimentation. Lyrically powerful as he sorts through misplaced resentment, rarely is black metal so self-aware in its scorn.
Darkness alone is not enough to make something an engaging listen, so thankfully the songwriting rises to the occasion to capture what is being expelled from their souls here. This album proves this project to be in the top-tier of black metal for 2026 and holds its own against their previous work. It might also prove to be the best black metal album of 2026. Fans of black metal who appreciate wretched agony balanced with guitar melodies should make this one a priority.
https://linktr.ee/Anagnorisis666
https://anagnorisis.bandcamp.com
https://vendetta-records.bandcamp.com/album/caregriever
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