An unmanageable ocean of post-black metal bands wants to be opened up by the inclined listener, and as long as there are groups of such high quality as AVAST, it won't be possible in one metal experience to know them all.
AVAST convince on Mother Culture with crisp hardness, screech vocals and highly atmospheric, dreamy melodies, which are woven into the epic, but not completely overflowing compositions in an uncommonly natural and casual way. In the title track the musicians add a doomed, elegantly flowing flavor and enchant with damn beautiful melodies.
This music does not necessarily need words to express much, because in instrumental The Myth a rebellious dynamic and a discreetly rocky vibe provide an exalting light listening experience with timelessly beautiful harmonies. Afterwards the violently unbreaking Birth Of Man seems all the more aggressive and proves the fine hand for gripping contrasts, which pull the connoisseur back and forth between relaxed mood and biting hardness.
Within the songs, the quartet explores the entire speed spectrum and lowers the pulse with extremely calm sequences that contrast the nastily screamed passages. A heavy groove is also interspersed and suddenly makes room for blasts. All these ingredients bring the artists into a meaningful context and delight with variety as well as traceability. The juxtaposition of almost contemplative silence and intensively carried despair into the world succeeds especially well in the concluding Man Belongs To The World, which also captivates with an opulent, sublime widescreen finale.
Mother Culture impresses with its simple beauty, dazzling opposites and intense tempo changes, which make this album seem like a river, which sometimes leisurely broadly, then again rapidly thunderously breaks its path.