BLACK CROWN INITIATE 'SELVES WE CANNOT FORGIVE' CD

, the band’s sophomore album, is a lean and focused collection that jettisons the extraneous fat found too often within ambitious metal bands, striking a balance between fearless adventurousness and methodical might. It follows their sprawling full-length debut,

, which together with their self-financed

EP introduced Black Crown Initiate’s unapologetic exploration of everything from Friedrich Nietzsche and Greek Sophist Gorgias to Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous mysticism, with a pragmatic skepticism.