ZYKLON
"Disintegrate" (Candlelight USA;
2006)
Reviewed by Mike SOS
Zyklon's sophomore effort, "Disintegrate," takes form as a sharp, wicked, and dangerous entity, careening into the portals of extreme metal with a furious fervor.
This wrath of this ten track release is felt from the opening strains of "In Hindsight" and reverberates throughout the entire disc, accounting for a blisteringly fast and uncompromisingly vile experience.
Fortified with a bevy of slaughtering guitars whose horrific squeals and frenzied progressions exude extreme metal to the highest order, tracks like the menacing "A Slow Grave" give off all of the nuances of an impending violent storm about to lay an unsuspecting land to waste, while the double-timed doom march of "Wrenched" is as savage a song you'll hear all year.
Embedded in evil and in cahoots with chaos, Zyklon's crushingly mammoth next step is an essential purchase for extreme metal purveyors.
For more information visit http://www.zyklontribe.com.
"World
Ov Worms" (Candlelight USA; 2001)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
Zyklon's "World Ov Worms" is an interesting take on raging Norwegian black metal as it leaves much of the genres' fascination with all things related to nature and the night with a more furious take on the evils of the modern world. As such, Emperor's Samoth has re-christened himself Zamoth for his solo project, Zyklon. Emperor's drummer, Trym, is along for the mayhem, pounding out the stylized and mechanized rhythms. A few others round out the cast of characters in Zyklon in making it sound like a unique project rather than some collection of material Emperor rejected over the last decade.
The music, at its most basic moments, is predictably like Emperor without the neo-classical keyboards. Zyklon's riffs have a crunchy, death-y feel to them without ever feeling like a death metal disc. Zamoth and Zyklon still manage to squeeze in a few atmospheric moments in addition to female vocals, spoken word, and synth sounds that give a haunting electronica feel to the music.
Overall, Zyklon bring back a more raw style to the proceedings without falling into the trap of sounding like the origins of under-produced black metal.
The production is uncluttered and allows the distinctive character of Zyklon to make itself readily known rather than be buried under blazing, chaotic mess of too many sounds fighting for a breath of air in the sonic spectrum like most black metal bands are wont to do. "World Ov Worms" is definitely an interesting listen.
Black metal fans and fans of Emperor will definitely want to check Zyklon's "World Ov Worms" out.
"World Ov Worms" was produced by Thorbjorn Akkerhaugen and Zyklon.
Zyklon is Zamoth on guitar and bass; Trym on drums, percussion, and programming; and Destructhor on lead guitar and bass. Additional musicians include Daemon on lead vocals, Trickster G on clean vocals and spoken word, Thorbjorn Akkerhaugen on programming and keyboards, and Persephone on female vocals.
For more information visit http://www.zyklontribe.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2006 by R. Scott Bolton. All
rights reserved.
Revised: 04 Jun 2023 14:49:29 -0400
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