Agathocles – Black Clouds Determinate (1994)

January 13, 2023

A similar method of approach could be given to that of Razor Sharp Daggers or Theatrical Symbolisation etc etc – if you are interested in Black Clouds Determinate as a studio album recording then the first 16 tracks are the only ones you should concern yourself with. The rest of this bloated run-time is filled with live material, which whilst not the worst thing in the world, does drag this thing out unnecessarily. 

The early to mid 90s is a strange period for Agathocles. There is a middle ground between the “classic” stuff and the stride that they hit going into the 2000s, which whilst not experimental, does see them flexing a bit in regards to textures. This is not the case on Black Clouds however. The entire session feels like a single whole – consistent, you could say – and whilst it doesn’t seem like many of these songs really stuck around that much in the band’s live set (not long-term anyway) they are absolutely worth checking out.