Agriculture

About

Agriculture are bringing their signature unique black metal sound to Substation with support from Rhododendron and Pure Hex. Substation presents: Agriculture - Agriculture is a Los Angeles–based band channeling ecstatic black metal into something spiritual, grounded, and definitely present. Emerging from the city’s noise scene, the band coalesced into its current form with Dan Meyer, Leah Levinson, Richard Chowenhill, and Kern Haug. Their music fuses the searing intensity of black metal with Zen Buddhist thought, queer history, and devotional songwriting. The result is a sound that resists algorithmic flattening and demands full attention. Their process is rooted in community and persistence: songs are written, dismantled, and rebuilt together. The Spiritual Sound, their new full-length, builds on the radiant extremity of their previous releases and pushes further: music not for escapism, but for confrontation and catharsis. This is not a vibe. It’s a demand. with support from Rhododendron - Formed in 2019 while the band’s members were still in high school, Rhododendron’s Ezra Chong (guitar, vocals), Gage Walker (bass), and Noah Mortola (drums) set out to push their musical limits without regard for genre boundaries or audience expectation. Over the past 7 years, the trio has developed a sound rooted in technical precision and repetition. Drawing from the angular experimentation of underground rock in the 1980s and 1990s alongside elements of jazz, ambient, and progressive music, their compositions are deliberate with intensity. Riffs fracture and reform, rhythms lock into patterns only to break apart, and extended passages build pressure before shifting direction. Performing regularly in their hometown of Portland, OR, Rhododendron have cultivated an intense and loyal local following. The live setting hardened the material, and songs grew heavier, sharper, more physical through repetition and high volume. Transformation, growth, and rebirth drive Rhododendron's forthcoming LP Ascent Effort (out May 15 on The Flenser). The title points upward, but not toward arrival. The record documents a period of change defined as much by instability as progress, where confusion and renewal unfold at the same pace. The material that became Ascent Effort was tested on tour before entering the studio. Written largely in sequence, the album traces a period of personal change and internal friction. Growth is not always clean; sometimes it grinds forward. Nothing resolves without cost. Confusion and strain do not sit outside the songs, they shape their architecture. That is what Rhododendron has accomplished with Ascent Effort, a work that is not always clean but well-shaped by struggle and growth. The Pacific Northwest lingers in the background of the record, its long winters and brief summers echoing the album’s shifts between abrasion and restraint. Ascent Effort does not offer catharsis in the traditional sense. It allows tension to remain. In that unresolved space, transformation takes form and a band in motion is revealed. Pure Hex - Hailing from the SF Bay Area, Pure Hex blends alternative rock and shoegaze to deliver a haunting take on your favorite 90’s sound, reminiscent of Deftones, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Mazzy Star. In 2025, they released Spilling/Five of Tears, a double LP that blends the catchy and the esoteric, leaning further into their own unique sound. Pure Hex has toured the West Coast and Southwest, and opened for bands like DIIV, Slow Crush, and No Joy. Doors @ 7:00pm. Music @ 8:00pm. 18+ only. see you there!

Event Organizer