REVIEW: Augur - Arcane Insurgency

Excuse me, sir, could you spare some riffs?

20:29 // August 6, 2025 // Self-Released

I’m so used to unfocused and/or amateurish debuts, even from artists who later become quite amazing, that it’s always striking when an act feels complete and fully-formed on their first attempt. Augur is that rare breed with their three-song EP Arcane Insurgency.

It certainly helps that this release for the Richmond, Virginia band is, well, just kind of my thing. I don’t just say this because I like black metal, it’s more specific than that. For one thing, this offering splits the difference in production value, managing to be clear enough that instruments sound like instruments (yay!) while keeping the overarching sound suitably grimy. For another, everything here is loud, angry, in-your-face, but still undeniably fun. There might be a track titled “Born of a Corpse”, a rather horrifying concept, but the musicians are clearly having the time of their life blaring out their music at maximum volume, and the ensuing blend of grimness and exhilaration feels just right for the material. Also, the vocalist has me convinced, sight unseen, that he’s some barrel-chested giant subsisting on a diet of whiskey and cigarettes - if you have biographical information to the contrary, don’t tell me, I prefer to live in ignorance.

This EP can be classified on the atmospheric side of the genre, given its dips into post-rock/shoegaze-y ambience in the (rare) more subdued moments, like the mid-section of “Retaliator”, but don’t get fooled, this is pretty heavy stuff. “Temporal Majesty” might be the prime example, but all three songs present ample opportunity for rocking out to fucking huge doomy riffs, and the entire release puts me in the satisfying head(banging)space of tapping my feet and grinning like a maniac. Did I mention this is a debut? Arcane Insurgency undoubtedly augurs (hehehe) well for this band’s future.

8/10