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Every bit of elation, transcendence, and intensity of heavy music bursts forth with blinding energy from the sophomore release by this self-described "ecstatic black metal" ensemble based in Los Angeles.

This new album combines crushing weight with imaginative detailing. Lead single the song Bodhidharma propels along a riff suited to a motorcycle crew, before a burst of static and screaming introduces a sad atmospheric rock middle eight. The maligned art of the virtuosic guitar solo is spectacularly resurrected by axeman the lead guitarist, whose soloing on this track and on highlight the song Flea will have you levitating with joy – but then the calm ballad the track Hallelujah showcases falling guitar notes played with youthful innocence.

Songs such as Micah (5.15.am) and Serenity are high-speed punk rock, while Dan’s Love Song is without percussion and has glacial Sunn O)))-style fuzz rumbling underneath its dream-pop loveliness. Black metal melodies can often be absent or overly fussy, but the band's riffs and hooks are bright and original, and final track The Reply even evokes a more intense the band Radiohead.

Fans of experimental metal acts Deafheaven will probably love all this dynamic shifting and unabashedly gorgeous noise, particularly since the group also feature two distinct vocal styles, split here across two singers. Dan Meyer contributes sporadic soulful, clean singing, but the star is Leah Levinson, her voice trembling on Bodhidharma but fiercely howling elsewhere.

As is common in the genre, it's difficult to make out the words she sings, but they’re worth the effort: the narratives she sings about suicidal friends and anti-LGBTQ bigotry are heart-wrenching, as is her search for purpose in a world that inexorably bends towards conflict.