Lychgate - Lychgate
This is my first time hearing England’s Lychgate (formerly known as Archaicus), though I have heard guitarist/keyboardist Vortigern’s other band, The One, before. Having heard The One, I was expecting something more in that vein, but Lychgate sounds completely different. It’s still Black Metal, but it comes from the opposite end of the spectrum. Where I was anticipating something in the more raw and dirty Darkthrone style, this LP surprised me by being very clean and structured. Unlike The One, Lychgate is very technical. I’m not generally a fan of technical music, but I appreciate skillful playing when I hear it, and these guys are definitely good at what they do. I also like that while this is technical, it never degenerates into pointless guitar masturbation or weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird navel-gazing Progressive Metal. The music is dark, melodic, and though it isn’t slow, it has something of a Doom atmosphere. My only real gripe is that the songs don’t have any memorable bits in them. It’s possible to be technical and memorable at the same time, but it’s not an easy thing to pull off. Having a hook or something that the listener can latch on to makes the song stick in your head. Lychgate doesn’t have any of that here. That being said, you really can’t remember any of the songs from this LP after it’s done playing. If these guys can work in some memorable bits, their next release could be lethal. As it is, this LP is still an interesting listen. If you like technical Death or Black Metal, you will probably enjoy the music that Lychgate is making.
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