Under The Veil Of Depression (Misanthropic Art Productions)

 Obscure and nihilistic Black Metal is what this quite new Greek one man Black Metal act formed in 2008 delivers at this album, the band’s latest release and first full length, finally released  after a couple of demos and splits. The album consists in eight tracks clocked at about 50 minutes of what we could label as a “Depressive” Black Metal composition… Melancholic and electric guitar driven atmospheres are the leading element here, maintaining every element of this album under its veil of blackness and passive desperation. The simple, quite monotone riffing also contributes here with the “obligatory” doses of nihilism and misanthropic attitude every respectable one-man Black Metal band should have, but in a quite “original” manner; while the most of the “Nihilistic” and/or “Suicidal” Black Metal bands, base their music over saturated, strident high pitched guitar atmospheres, the music of Lykauges base its obscure atmospheres over dense mid toned riffs, delivering a much “controlled” aura to what could be a really chaotic scenario if a much strident sound were used.  The album moves over mid to slow paced structures, where a simple and accurate drum work, sets a solid base for the whole musicianship… The voices at this album are also quite uncommon for the style; Ghrundal (Lykauges’ mastermind) uses a harsh mid toned style that complemented by a reverberant effects, results in a quite interesting and infernal blend… The album production is quite raw, always within the well defined parameters of Depressive Black Metal, but solid enough to not complain about… I personally like my Black Metal strident and chaotic as hell, but every attempt at originality within such a limited style such Depressive Black Metal is certainly remarkable. “Under The Veil Of Depression” could be a nice experience if you are into this incredibly popular tendency, but if you are into the most traditional and purist sound of Black Metal, this album will probably sound too “trendy” to you… (AP)