01. Unself
02. All Apart
03. There Is No Warmth
04. The Searing Glow
05. A Plea
06. Let Us Live
07. Hang Them In Your Head
08. Foreclosure
09. This World Is Not My Home

Widely considered to be one of the UK’s heaviest bands, CONJURER are a brilliant anomaly. Their sound is familiar but foreign: a gruelling but progressive blend of barbarous sludge and fervently atmospheric post-metal tropes with only a passing interest in shiny hooks. Everything the foursome have released to date has been roundly acclaimed by critics, and thanks to a fearsome (and deserved) reputation as an unforgettable live force, they seem to have sidestepped the notion of defiant contrariness to become a cherished totem for the UK’s highly creative, heavy underground. That combination of brute force and artful experimentation reaches a new level of efficacy on “Unself” — the third CONJURER album, and second for Nuclear Blast.

Still ruinously heavy, this album feels like the culmination of a necessary and inspirational process. Sophistication and intelligence drips from every note. Riffs are wielded like scythes. Subtlety and nuance are etched into the fabric of songs that wear their abstruse density like a cloak of invulnerability. Everything feels instinctive but also momentous. CONJURER are definitely not here to fuck around: “Unself” is punishing, but full of grand, nourishing ideas. The opening title track gives a strong indication that the band’s third album will provide a more daunting challenge than its predecessors. A gentle, downbeat intro, with acoustic guitar and a featherweight, folksy melody, disintegrates into abject horror and bilious fury, as if to say that CONJURER are not in the business of making things easy for the listener. Fortunately, fans have been trained to anticipate their noisiness and aggression, and when “All Apart” kicks in, with lurching riffs that impact like blows to the skull and vocals that channel all the discomfort and disdain in the world, the effect is exhilarating. There is a wonderful battle going on here, between deft, intuitive songwriting and the more primal urge to crush everything that dares to cross this band’s path. “Unself” is not just pitilessly heavy, it really hurts. Blastbeats dissolve into mournful elegance, moments of quiet are shattered by seismic riffing, and a strong sense of untamed belligerence permeates everything.

“There Is No Warmth”, which is aptly named, harnesses the magical cut ‘n’ thrust of left-field post-hardcore, squeezing every drop of fury from its sludgy core and stomping around like some rogue titan on a revenge mission. Play it loud enough, and the ceiling is coming down. “The Searing Glow” is even more impressive, with interlocked riffs and a woozy gait that sits somewhere between prime MASTODON and early SWANS. A mid-song descent into creepy restraint owes its ass to the most ruthless noise rock but builds up into a murderous run of gristly riffs that wear their metal credentials with glee.

In gripping contrast, “A Plea” is a delicate, interstitial slice of respite from the onslaught, replete with guitars that twinkle like stars. CONJURER have mastered the art of taking an extended, anticipatory run-up to their heaviest moments. “Let Us Live” begins in fragile austerity, before riffs erupt, scorching the earth with a desperate, sorrowful flourish. “Hang Them In Your Head” is the closest this album gets to a streamlined assault, its four minutes as taut and tumultuous as can be, but still avowedly dark and primitive; dissonance and directness in perfect, ugly harmony. Meanwhile, “Foreclosure” offers a superb collision between terse chord sequences and raging atmospherics, grandeur assailed by violence amid a storm of deathly pathos. And to put a waxy seal on the deal, “This World Is Not My Home” revisits the lone voice and tremulous acoustics of the title track, tipping into psychotic, doom metal squall with fluid precision, as spidery guitar hooks morph into an overpowering wash of steroidal, post-rock melancholy.

Very obviously heartfelt and thrillingly primal, “Unself” is CONJURER’s finest album to date and the self-evident maturing of an already smart and savage musical approach. Catch them live for the full, life-affirming effect.