Liturgy Make Every One of 93696’s 82 Minutes Count

Liturgy’s 93696 is not an album that whispers. It is an 82-minute, 15-track monument built from black metal blast beats, orchestral grandeur, and choir vocals. Maximalism is the creative principle here, and it mostly works.

From Daily Bread to Djennaration

The record opens with “Daily Bread,” a brief 2:18 prologue that sets a ceremonial tone. It flows directly into “Djennaration,” an 8:20 epic that layers intricate guitar work over shifting rhythms, establishing the album’s core tension: chaos and control fighting for the same space.

Caela and the First Angels

“Caela” follows with a cleaner, more melodic approach before “Angel of Sovereignty” hits like a compressed burst of fury. The sprawling “Haelegen II” takes over next, a roughly nine-minute centerpiece that moves from dense, punishing sections into passages of unexpected clarity.

The Middle Stretch

The album’s middle section is anchored by its “Angel” trilogy. “Angel of Hierarchy” and “Angel of Emancipation” are shorter, sharpened compositions. “Before I Knew the Truth” and “Red Crown II” are leaner, more direct tracks that keep momentum without overstaying their welcome.

“Ananon” offers a brief respite, its cleaner tones a counterweight to the surrounding density.

The Title Track

The title track, “93696,” is the album’s beating heart. At 14:51, it is a full journey in itself, weaving between brutal, pulverizing passages and some of the prettiest, most ornate songs in the band’s catalog. “Haelegen II (reprise)” recaps the earlier theme in under two minutes, a smart structural move.

Antigone II and the Close

“Angel of Individuation” builds toward the finale: “Antigone II,” a 14-minute closer that recasts the album’s ideas on a grand scale. It is exhausting, but it earns its length. The production is massive — drums relentless, guitars dense, vocals ranging from shrieks to clean, almost liturgical singing.

Comparing the Long Tracks

Critical Reception

Pitchfork scored 93696 8.0/10, and Metacritic’s aggregate sits at 79/100. Critics broadly praised it as an ambitious, maximalist culmination of Liturgy’s career, calling it emotionally powerful and one of the year’s best experimental metal records, though a few noted its runtime could feel relentless.

It is in full command of its sound, weaving between passages of chaotic release and delicate beauty. It can be pulverizing, but it is also gentle. Amid the brutality lie some of the band’s prettiest songs yet. This is an exhilarating, sometimes overwhelming journey across extreme music’s terrain. Liturgy have finally found some kind of promised land.

album review · avant-garde · black metal · experimental metal · Liturgy