Extreme metal often embodies the bleakest aspects of existence, but for Los Angeles-based ecstatic black metal quartet Agriculture, blast beats and howling shrieks evoke joyful profundity. After meeting at an underground noise show in downtown Los Angeles -- another scene known for its usually cynical perspective -- Kern Haug and Dan Meyer began collaborating, using heavy music to portray overwhelming sublimity rather than crushing darkness. Quickly expanding their personnel