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Zyklon
Aeon
I've long been a fan of Emperor, and since Zyklon consists of Samoth and Trym from Emperor, I immediately pounced on "World ov Worms" when it was first released. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. It's been a good week for brutal metal ("Aeon" also arrived with the debut Grimfist, and I just picked up Blood Red Throne yesterday) and I am confident that this latest Zyklon release will live up to my expectations.
Zyklon easily rivals Emperor in speed and intensity, but Zyklon forgoes the atmospheric synth elements for a stripped down sound and pinpoint precision. I bet these guys put on a killer show. I will forever lament the fact that I missed the Emperor show that came to Jaxx a few years ago, and if Zyklon comes around (as their bio sheet claims they will) I will definitely be making that show.
This is an interesting mix of black metal and death metal. If I had to nail down which genre they belong in I would say death metal, but there are some definitely melodic guitar parts to be found here as well. And I don't mean In Flames/Gothenburg melodic, this is different than what I generally think of as melodic death metal. At the same time it also has an old school death/Deicide (first two albums) flavor happening.
I'm beginning to think Slayer (as well as Iron Maiden) should be named most important metal band ever, because listening to this I wonder where we would be today if not for Slayer. On three I want everyone to repeat after me: All hail Slayer, their supreme wickedness, and the countless progeny they have spawned.
Anyway, the production on this disc is nice and clean, I have no complaints. I think it is mixed well, it isn't a muddy sloppy mess (pinpoint precision remember?) There is a wall of guitar much of the time, but the leads and vocals manage to cut through it nicely. I want to know how guys like this can sing like they do. I've tried to sing this style before and found myself coughing and hacking up my lungs inside of thirty seconds. If you know the secret to the style, please share.
Sadly, this disc ends after only 9 songs, but it still clocks in at over 40 minutes. But keeping in mind that quality is better than quantity, I think this CD makes out pretty well. Fans of the style should be sated by this latest offering of Norwegian metal. I know this will hold me over for awhile, even if I do secretly (oops did I say that out loud) yearn for an Emperor reunion.
