''Aesthethica'' is the second studio album by

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-based

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. Produced by

Krallice Krallice is an American black metal band formed by New York City musicians Colin Marston, Mick Barr, Nick McMaster and Lev Weinstein. They play an experimental, highly technical style of black metal. The band has released twelve studio albums a ...

guitarist

Colin Marston Colin Marston (born September 13, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer residing in New York City. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music technology in 2004, and runs Meneg ...

, the album was released on May 10, 2011 via

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

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ranked it as number 26 on Spin's 50 Best Albums of 2011, and ''

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'' placed the album at number 41 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Aesthethica'' received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 72, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 13 reviews. In a review for

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, critic reviewer Thom Jurek wrote: "''Aesthethica'' consists of intricate, sophisticated songs, full of majesty, nearly insane drive, intention, and the frighteningly unleashed power of emotion. This is extreme music. It may come to define or utterly transcend metal, but it doesn't matter because this album is in its own class." Jason Heller of ''

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'' said the album "carries plenty of Renihilation’s momentum." At ''

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'', Jamie Thomson explained: "While their second album ticks off plenty of genre tropes – bloodcurdling screamed vocals, kinetic drum blasts, and the kind of left-field musical excursions that are now de rigueur for any reasonably experimental BM band – it is difficult to escape the impression of Liturgy as chin-stroking dilettantes."

Accolades

Track listing

"Harmonia" contains a hidden track on the CD version. The song itself lasts for approximately 5:31 and the hidden track lasts for approximately 1:37, with just under a minute of silence between them. Additionally, "Sun of Light" contains just under a minute of silence after the song. Both silences and the hidden track are omitted from the vinyl edition; however, "Veins of God" has an extended coda on the vinyl pressing that stretches the song's length to approximately 9:28.

Personnel

Band members *

Haela Hunt-Hendrix Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix (born January 25, 1985) is an American musician and composer. She is best known for her work as creator, lead singer, and guitarist of black metal band Liturgy. Personal life Hunt-Hendrix was born in 1985 in New York ...

– guitar, vocals *Tyler Dusenbury – bass *Greg Fox – drums *Bernard Gann – guitar Production * Heba Kadry – mastering *

– production, engineering, mixing

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2011 albums Liturgy (band) albums Thrill Jockey albums