Blast Your Ears with Ancst's Politically Volatile Mix of Black Metal and Hardcore

German extreme metal chameleons Ancst have long been a firm Noisey favorite, so of course I'm delighted to be presenting you with the band's latest slab of politicized aggression, Ghosts of the Timeless Void. Based in Berlin and marking its seventh birthday this year, Ancst blends hardcore, crust punk, screamo, and dark ambient into an atmospheric black metal base to great effect; they've got quite the prodigious discography, and have let loose nearly as many experimental drone/dark ambient releases as they have metal-adjacent ones. They've worked with a who's who of underground labels like Vendetta, Alerta Antifascista, and Halo Of Flies, but for this newest joint, have made the leap to Lifeforce.

That seemingly endless font of creativity is on full display here, as this latest album thoroughly ups the ante; their hardcore influences muscle through more than usual, the black metal sections ramp up to warp speed, and their whiplash-inducing drummer appears to have gone full cyborg.

As well as dishing out musical aggression, Ancst have also made a name for themselves by being vocally outspoken about their anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-oppressive politics. As vocalist Tom told me last time we featured the band, "Everything you do in your daily life is political," and that's an attitude that purposefully bleeds through into this latest release.

"As a result of what is going on in Germany, Europe and the world, Ghosts of the Timeless Void, our new and second album, continues where we left off with [2016 debut album] Moloch and [2017 EP] Furnace," the band told Noisey. "With the right on the rise and the gap between the rich and the poor widening, not only is our own microcosm being threatened, but whole social environments are."

"We don't wanna stand by while the world is going to shit, so Ghosts of the Timeless Void speaks a clear language. And as everything personal is also political in some ways, Ghosts also does provide an emotional and personal insight into what is going on in our small bubble, as Ancst has always been a catalyst for our own frustration."

The album is streaming in full below—and if you're anxious to get your paws on this one ahead of the March 2 release date, preorders for Ghosts of the Timeless Void are available for a variety of formats here.

The band also recently completed a new music video for the track "Dying Embers"—take a peek at that below, and keep your eyes peeled in you're based in Europe, because Ancst just might be rolling through your town sometime soon.

Ancst European Tour 2018
March 9 • GER, Leipzig, Moertelwerk
March 10 • GER, Zittau, Emil
March 11 • CZ, Prague, Underdogs
March 12 • AT, Vienna, EKH
March 13 • AT, Graz, SUB
March 14 • CRO, Zagreb , AKC Attack
March 16 • IT, Rimini, Grotta Rossa
March 17 • IT, Fontanafredda, Astro Club
March 18 • CH, Bern, Cafete
March 19 • CH, Thun, Akut
March 20 • CH, Geneva, La Makhno
March 21 • FR, Clermont Ferrand, Raymond Bar
March 22 • FR, Rennes, Mondo Bizarro
March 23 • FR, Paris, Le Klub
March 25 • UK, Manchester, Aatma
March 26 • UK, Bristol, The Gryphon
March 27 • UK, London, The Black Heart
March 28 • B, Antwerp, Music City
March 29 • NL, Hengelo, Innocent
March 30 • NL, Arnhem, Willemen
March 31 • GER, Darmstadt, Oetinger Villa
April 1 • GER, Wolfsburg, Juha Os

Kim Kelly is lighting the signal fires on Twitter.