Second half "Anthromicon" proceeds similarly, though it begins to slow around the 13-minute mark. Like Cosmovore closer "Dunwich Whore," "Helionomicon" sees the band expertly build tension, carrying listeners up a sonic tower and only stopping when opportune windows appear to reveal giddy heights. Riffs are given time to unspool and escalate in compelling ways, often repeating with subtle changes before crashing into slower sections that plunge into death-metal depths. The title track, which makes up the LP's first half, is less rapid-fire than Anthronomicon's gatling-gun approach while still moving at a gallop. This is why the other "fraternal twin" in the pair, Helionomicon, succeeds-its ideas are, at best, outright thrilling, and at worst interesting pieces of a compelling patchwork that don't keep the listener too long. In the case of a record with two tracks that hit the 20-minute mark, the burden of proof is higher-however, Ulthar aren't hell-bent on using their allotted time to explore arcane concepts so much as to build a monolith of musical ideas undergirded by cosmic horror. On any double album, bands must justify the length of their compositions and command the listener's attention. This duo of albums is unique in many respects, not least of which is the fact that this is pointedly not a double LP. However, one could just as easily start the other way around. As in opener "Cephalophore," the song offers a menacing moment of respite courtesy of an ambient section near the end, but Ulthar's three-person wrecking crew uses these moments almost as a bait-and-switch-in contrast to Providence, the ambient passages aren't separate tracks, so if skipping through Anthronomicon, you're more likely to be pummeled into submission than lulled into complacency.Īs if by way of bridging over to Helionomicon, the album ends with synths and a discordant instrumental passage. "Astranumeral Octave Chants" encapsulates all of this, exhibiting all the weapons in Ulthar's arsenal over four and half minutes. More akin to Providence in composition than its longer peer, Anthronomicon expertly layers chugging death metal riffs, propulsive thrash rhythms, black metal bile and undulating bass without straying too far in any one direction or giving listeners much of a break.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |