Liturgy

‏No doubt one of the heaviest and most challenging acts on the current Thrill Jockey roster, Brooklyn’s self-proclaimed “transcendental black metal” quartet Liturgy pay tribute to the genre’s satanic roots with a menacing wall of sound stacked with frantic, heavily distorted guitars, blast-beat drumming and truly harrowing vocals that sound like they were forged in the deep, dark recesses of you-know-where. But between the cracks in Liturgy’s barrage of noise and energy lies a keen sense of melody: often beautiful and, indeed, transcendental. On last year’s Aesthethica (the band’s second full-length and first for Thrill Jockey), this daring formula reached its logical peak — causing many critics to praise the album as one of 2011’s best and retractors to condemn the band as an affront to the proverbial “true” black metal sound. You be the judge. But remember to focus that third eye, free your mind and prepare for sonic transcendence. (Saturday, 2:50-3:45, Blue Stage) –text: Mike Scales