For the initiated, it should come as no surprise that when you see the label I, Voidhanger Records attached to a release you’ll be in for some degree of genre-bending, twisted experimental metal. The Triumph of Time and the Disillusioned is no exception. The debut full-length from multinational act Labor the Negative is but the latest addition to the pantheon of avant-garde black metal, one that draws from wells both “ancient” and modern to form a dizzying assault on the ears.

Labor of the Negative — comprised of four mysterious entities hailing from Egypt, Norway, Portugal, and the UK — draw their name from a line in the preface of Hegel’s Phenomenology of the Spirit, and the idea (as far as this work-exhausted brain, nearly a decade away from rigorous academia, can gather) that progress, self-actualization, etc. must come from confronting contradictions and opposites. Highbrow stuff for a genre founded on mere cold, darkness, and evil, so how is this presented musically In a suitably high-minded fashion, The Triumph of Time and the Disillusioned takes a bare skeleton of second wave black metal and throws on a jagged musculature of chaotic extreme metal and jazzy non-metal instrumentation through trumpet, all directed by the central nervous system of the entire sound: the wild, off-kilter vocals of M. Haunting, theatrical pseudo-cleans clash with tortured screams; while undeniably reminiscent of Vicotnik and Aldrahn’s work with Dødheimsgard, the end result even more feral.

Using the aforementioned DHG’s 2023 opus Black Medium Current as a foil, we can see the contradictions presented by Triumph of Time unfold. While that album (and many others in the world of avant-garde metal) are full of softer moments and more progressive journeys through odd time signatures and psychedelic jams, Labor of the Negative instead present pure sonic violence. A wall of sound that hits you over the head with a cacophony of noise; think Anaal Nathrakh by way of Imperial Triumphant. While the vocal theatrics recall DHG, the overall intensity of the sound reminds me of the criminally overlooked 2024 side quest Doedsmaghird. The guitars may begin the album sounding like Transilvanian Hunger, but soon become more dissonant and oppressive. The frantic drumming of T.Z. alternates between relentless blasts and jazzy cymbal wizardry, keeping the sound as chaotic as possible even during the non-metal instrumental breaks.

The six “Epochés” of The Triumph of Time and the Disillusioned are not exactly a showcase of memorable riffs, earworm choruses, and masterful crescendos, but rather 35 minutes of avant-garde chaos, an infernal descent into the darkest depths this side of metal has to offer. Its musings on the contradictions necessary for progress spew forth as manic, oppressive metal that often blurs the line between it and jazz, daring the listener to determine what Labor the Negative really is (or isn’t). Far from easy to digest, the end result is nevertheless a unique and refreshing listen, even within a subgenre of metal long dedicated to breaking the mold.

— Colin

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The Triumph of Time and the Disillusioned will be available August 7 through I, Voidhanger Records. For more information on Labor of the Negative, check out the album’s Bandcamp page.