Finland's Thyrane return to their symphonic black metal roots on the latest platter of aggression Travesty of Heavenly Essence. Many rate the bands 2000 release Spirit of Rebellion as one of the best atmospheric and symphonic black metal albums to come out in some time, yet the band chose to take a different stylistic turn with Hypnotic in 2003, incorporating some industrial and techno metal sounds into their already lethal mix. Well, they are back to what got them here in the first place, and that is creating speedy extreme metal littered with epic guitar riffs, blazing harmony leads, screeching vocals, and huge amounts of orchestral keyboards. It's all pretty bombastic stuff, easily on par with the recent output of bands like Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child, and Dragonlord.
It's just impossible not to be sucked in and pulverized by the intricate and catchy riffs plus epic keyboard flourishes of "Deteriorated", or the blistering speed metal attack of "Truth Revealed", complete with sledgehammer double bass drums, menacing growls, and plenty of tremolo picked guitar patterns. Other highlights include the classical keyboard arrangements on the otherwise crushing black metal piece "Divinity Under Will", the symphonic metal of "Prisoner of Pain", the intricate black/progressive "Lost in Reflection", and the ultra melodic "Decay of Christian Empire".
Production wise this is a great sounding CD, thanks to the great mixing job done by Ahti Kortelainen, with crunchy, crisp guitars, punchy rhythms, bright keyboards, and crystal clear black metal screeches. It's epic, it's melodic, and it's heavy as hell. It would be a real "travesty" if any melodic & symphonic black metal fan failed to scoop this up into their CD collection, and pronto.
Track Listing
01. Parasites Of Submission
02. Decay Of Christian Empire
03. Travesty Of Heavenly Essence
04. Nox Diaboli
05. Legacy Of Saints In Disguise
06. Deteriorated
07. Truth Revealed
08. Tolerance
09. Divinity Under Will
10. Prisoner Of Pain
11. Lost In Reflection
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