(written by Islander)
The Northern California metal band Amarok have demonstrated towering, far-seeing ambitions since their inception more than 15 years ago. With their self-titled debut EP in 2010 they began identifying their songs with Roman numerals. That EP was also more than 45 minutes long, spread across three songs. After a trio of splits, their 2018 debut album Devoured continued with the Roman numeral designations (which had continued on the splits), counting forward from VI through IX in a double LP that nearly reached ten minutes above an hour. And then in 2024 they released their second album Resilience, another double LP (X through XIII) that again exceeded an hour of music.
Over the course of those extensive releases Amarok has moved from funeral doom into a hybrid of doom and black metal, while also continuing to narrate evolving reflections on the natural world, the dangers created by human folly and oppression, the suffering caused by great loss, and a search for transcendence and hope through determined perseverance.
Over the course of those monumental releases Amarok have also made a lot of talented friends and admirers (in addition to amassing a devoted following of fans), the evidence of which will be revealed in a follow-up to Resilience named Overcome.
Overcome is yet another double-album, and is perhaps best considered as a companion to Resilience. Set for release on September 25 by Toronto’s Hypaethral Records, it includes ten remixed and reimagined interpretations of the five songs on Resilience by notable artists from across the experimental and extreme metal spectrum — two different versions of each of those five songs (which is how you get from five to ten tracks). Those ten artists include Ethan Lee McCarthy (Primitive Man), Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum), and Andrew Black (Mizmor/Hell live), as well as Sinuous Void, Only Now, Collapse, Gridfailure, DJ Eons One, Mirroriddian, and Auto Seer.
One song from Overcome has already been revealed, and today we premiere a second one — a reimagining of Amarok’s “Legacy” by the afore-mentioned Andrew Black. Continue reading »