Theoretically speaking, if one end of a wormhole could be held by a vessel travelling at near light speed into the future while the other remained stationary, information could pass through it into the past. Floridian technomancers, Ævangelist, seem to have discovered the means to do this, and have captured what came through. The recording reveals a future Earth where the merging of technology, spirituality, and biology have unleashed the ultimate darkness. Demons incarnate as biomechanical organisms brought about the apocalypse, leaving an almost unrecognizable landscape devoid of life as we know it. Writhes in the Murk paints a detailed picture of this in your mind that you won’t soon forget. It’s a lot to take in at first, but continued inspection reveals a nuanced desolation.

The face-shredding cosmic horror of 2013’s Omen Ex Simulacra was a huge advancement over De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis from just one year prior. This third full-length doesn’t take such an expansive leap, as it utilizes the same dark palette of avant-garde black, death, doom, ambient, and industrial sounds, but it’s arranged a little more purposefully. Writhes in the Murk quite literally does just that as it throbs and pulsates with biomechanical malevolence in a stew of defeated flesh. If you’re not already familiar with the unique niche (more like a cavern) that Ævangelist has carved out, try to imagine the heaviest chunks of Morbid Angel boiling in a mix of Blut Aus Nord’s What Once Was… Liber trilogy and Red Harvest’s Cold Dark Matter, sprinkle in some saxophone, screams of human torture, and the intro music from The Shining, and you might be able to prepare yourself just slightly for what’s about to violate your earholes.

However, there are some more humane elements to lure you in this time. The occasional appearance of haunting clean vocals and spoken female voices from beneath the rubble serve as a warning, but the hulking grooves in tracks like “Præternigma” and “Harken to the Flesh” will get your head nodding in compliance. “Disquiet” even offers a hypnotic respite of electro beats over ambient sounds and the closing title track surprisingly starts off with some acoustic guitars that give way to a heavy, trance-inducing rhythm unlike anything they’ve done before. Yet, an unsettling atmosphere pervades all and bursts of skin-peeling speed still abound, so don’t get the impression that any part of this is remotely easy listening.

Your enjoyment of Writhes in the Murk is going to depend on your propensity for aural masochism. If you can endure the sonic extremity, there are many sophisticated levels to explore. If given enough time, it feels like you could uncover secrets of the universe. Just be sure to mind the wormhole.

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