#black-metal

#black-metal

Take the title of The Spiritual Sound as a kind of syllabus, and you'll find a heady list of musical reference points that Agriculture aim to exalt. The jarring intros of black metal songs that make you feel like a portal to Hell has opened inside your headphones. The sound design on later Scott Walker arrangements meant to conjure a Biblical plague. The slow, majestic build of post-rock epics that hold back their climax for maximum transcendence.

The news was shared by current Bethlehem singer Yvonne "Onielar" Wilczynska. On Instagram, Onielar wrote (as translated from German), "He has died many times... But death was only temporary. After a serious illness, perseverance, and great fighting spirit, our beloved friend and esteemed founder of Bethlehem - Jürgen Bartsch - passed away on August 27, 2025. In deep sorrow and with a broken heart, In the name of Bethlehem, We will never forget you, Jürgen. Rest in peace."

When he discovered black metal, I followed him there too. Soon, my bedroom began to resemble a mausoleum: there were band posters featuring men made up to look like corpses glowering into Nordic fog, and CDs with tracklists that looked more like incantations than music. I began dressing the part black on black on black. I scoured forums for rare pressings and live bootlegs.