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All the elation, transcendence, and intensity of heavy music bursts forth with blinding force from the sophomore release by this self-proclaimed "ecstatic black metal" ensemble based in Los Angeles.

This new album pairs crushing weight with creative intricacies. Key track the song Bodhidharma rides a riff suited to a motorcycle crew, then a burst of static and shrieking heralds a sad atmospheric rock middle eight. The often-criticized technique of the widdly-woo solo is spectacularly resurrected by guitarist Richard Chowenhill, whose lead work on this track and on highlight Flea will have you floating in ecstasy – but then the gentle song the track Hallelujah features descending guitar melodies played with childlike simplicity.

Tracks like Micah (5.15.am) and Serenity are high-speed hardcore punk, but the piece Dan’s Love Song is drum free and has slow-moving drone-metal distortion rumbling underneath its ethereal beauty. Black metal melodies can often be absent or overly fussy, yet the band's guitar lines and choruses are bright and original, and final track the song The Reply even evokes a much heavier Radiohead.

Listeners who enjoy experimental metal acts similar artists will probably love all this contrasting dynamics and unabashedly gorgeous noise, especially because the group also have two divergent vocal styles, divided here across two vocalists. Dan Meyer contributes sporadic soulful, clean singing, yet the standout is Leah Levinson, whose voice trembling on one track but fiercely howling elsewhere.

As is common in the genre, it’s hard to make out the words she sings, yet they are worth the effort: the narratives she conveys about suicidal friends and social injustice are heart-wrenching, just like her quest for meaning in a world that inexorably bends towards conflict.