Trancelike Void – “Destroying Something Beautiful”

Published by The Metal Observer: http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=14496 

 

Tedium. Life’s full of it. That’s one reason our race invented music, like Metal, to escape from tedium. Music either excites us for entertainment or incites a feeling of aural transcendence. This Belgian duo aims for the latter, but fails to distinguish music from tedium.

Now Black Metal is generally more repetitive than most genres, but not to this point. By this band’s moniker, Trancelike Void, we see it purposes to hypnotize the listener with simple riffs played over and over, with the same drum pattern throughout each song, buffered by ambient tracks. Repeating evocative riffs works great, but this band uses mediocre riffs to stretch out over the course of several minutes. This doubles the suffering of a listener left waiting for something else to happen.

I was neither entranced by this music nor did I experience any mental void, given the claustrophobic vocal and guitar production; just uninspired strumming of power chords. The ambient tracks let me catch my breath, but they didn’t break the monotony at all. Some would say that this album functions better as whole this way, and I agree. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but this whole isn’t that great to begin with.

I write this as an avid fan of Xasthur, so I’m not unfamiliar with bands that strive for similar purposes as this one. I do concede that I don’t like Nortt, and in a band photo for Trancelike Void, a member is wearing a Nortt shirt. Fans of that band should perhaps take note. Otherwise, be relieved that you don’t have one more new album to check out for this year. 

( Online June 28, 2008 )

Lyrinx – “Nihilistic Purity”

Published by The Metal Observer: http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=14380 

Over a decade after Black Metal’s 2^nd wave phased out, there are many who have given up on the genre. They claim that this once flourishing movement has given way to stagnation. Either you sound like a clone band or you forfeit your sound for other styles. Lyrinx, lurking in the UK, are proof that Black Metal can still sound fresh with the standard instrumentation.

Hitting play I was greeted with an unsettling dissonance of guitars reverbed to the max. As this noise built into the first song I was entranced by unique riffs, tremolos and chord progressions played with emotion. This passion was matched by the vocals, quite similar to Malefic, but even more evocative. 

And speaking of Xasthur, any fans of the USBM figurehead will crave this British four-piece. Just listen to “Deconstruction of the Will to Live” and tell me this EP wasn’t produced by Malefic himself. The most impressive aspect of this album is indeed the production, with a powerful atmosphere that never feels disconnected, thanks in part to the drums. The audible bass really helps drive the mood and completes to tri-fold wall of sound that surrounds you on all sides and drags you into a melancholic abyss.

There are few things about this EP I can complain about. The song structures are brilliant, but the drumming could have been more varied. And the final track is unnecessary, a bad recording of the second song.

This half hour of sonic bliss is worthy of attention not just to fans of Xasthur or Nachtmystium, but to any Black Metal fan who needs to replenish their faith in a genre still going strong worldwide. Keep on the lookout for their debut album coming out later this year. Lyrinx’s creative potential shouldn’t be wasted in the depths of the underground.

( Online June 10, 2008 )

Zephyrus: The Metal Observer

Less than a month after I was hired to be a reviewer for The Metal Observer, my first reviews are at last showing up on the site’s main page, sure to be viewed by hundreds of metal enthusiasts hunting for the latest the genre has to offer. So far I’ve been reviewing Black Metal, but anything besides power metal and metalcore is within my grasp.

All reviews already written for the blog have been submitted to the TMO database, and most have been published. In fact, if you look at the main page (http://www.metal-observer.com/home.php?lid=1) today, you’ll see all of them on the left under “Current updates.”

As for new reviews, such as my recently-published review for Lyrinx’s Nihilistic Purity, they will also be posted on the blog and on Metal-Archives.com. You will see them on TMO first. 

Here’s the link to my TMO profile. If you’ve been reading the blog, most of it is info you already know: http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=3&id=14492 .

As for this blog, I will stay its course as a promoter of the Maine metal scene, and now that I’m on The Metal Observer team, my promotion powers have been greatly augmented. Of course, this potential is not limited to the Pine Tree State, but to the entire globe. Please contact me if you’re in a band, or know a band, whom you would like me to review material for. I can review whatever I like, not just the free promos I’m sent by the TMO brass.