Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 17/3/2014
Label : Century Media
Records
III:
BENEATH TRIDENT'S TOMB, album track listing :
01. Lungs (03:51)
02. Oh Wretched Son (08:44)
03. Swarming Funeral Mass (07:38)
04. Seek No Shelter Fevered Ones
(08:45)
05. A Flood Of Eyes (07:54)
06. Below Lights (04:14)
Bio
:
Through its tumultuous existence,
Twilight has struggled to define just what it was. Actually, it’s been the public
struggling to define the band. Black metal supergroup? The members would scoff
at this. Originally started by N. Imperial (Krieg), Wrest (Leviathan, Lurker of
Chalice), Malefic (Xasthur), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium) and Hildolf (Draugar),
one would argue this being the ultimate kult supergroup. Their debut album was
recording by mailing cassette tapes back and forth between the members. Shortly
after it was released they announced they broke up. They never played a show
and never planned on it. Most of the members refused to do interviews for the
project, if that’s what one would call it.
Almost 5 years later a second album
was announced, as was new members. Monument to Time End saw Hildolf and Malefic
not in the fold but Sanford Parker (Minsk, Corrections House), Stavros
Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth) and Aaron Turner (Isis) contributing to the
project. Was ‘project’ the best way to describe Twilight? Demand for the band
to perform was extremely high though quickly shot down. Promotion again kept to
the minimum. Twilight seemed like it was more of an outlet for some of the most
creative musicians in the underground to get together and jam than anything
else. Did anything else matter?
The Twilight lore started to grow even
strong when it was rumored that Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) had joined the band.
Moore had mentioned in interviews his taste for USBM and through mutual
friends, was put in touch with Parker. A few months later, N. Imperial, Wrest,
Giannopolous, Parker, Moore and Judd got together in a Chicago studio and wrote
and recorded III: Beneath Trident’s Tomb. Released as a digipack and LP (1000 pressed
worldwide, 700 on purple vinyl, 300 on black) on March 18th, once again it will
leave fans wondering what Twilight is. III is much more an experimental album
than its predecessors. It’s a dark, uncomfortable listen.
Twilight has already announced they
are breaking up, Judd, one of the founding members is absent from the album. In
the end, Twilight’s legacy will be shrouded in mystery and debate but whatever
Twilight is, band, project or collaboration, they have undeniable released some
of the most unique albums in the underground ever
The
Band :
N. Imperial | Vocals
Wrest | Drums/Bass/Vocals
Stavros Giannopoulos | Guitars/Vocals
Sanford Parker | Synths/Electronics/Production
Thurston Moore | Guitar/Vocals
Review
:
Twilight
are kinda like the Traveling Wilburys of black metal. I hesitate to use the
term 'supergroup', but they pretty much full on qualify for it. Their ranks
past and present are swollen with luminaries from the field of US BM, but also
from more unexpected quarters. Wrest, Imperial, Sanford Parker, one time Aaron
Turner and Blake Judd, and for this final outing... Thurston Moore.
That's
right, Thurston Moore. He of the Sonic Youth. Which does make for a kool
(guffaw) fit when you consider that historically that legendary band's output
was primarily centred around the same shrieking manipulation of guitars that
can be found within BM. I know it's narrow minded but imagine him in corpse
paint. Got that mental image? Good. You're welcome.
On
paper it all seems quite the intrigue, like a Poirot mystery but with probably
better music. And luckily that translates well to the reality of the situation
too, as 'III: Beneath Trident's Tomb' is an unorthodox but fully enjoyable
wealth of heavy handed feel. It's not your average black metal record, but what
is these days? The genre has become much more than a caricature of itself in
modern times, even though I have already made a corpse paint joke (sorry).
'Lungs' has an almost noise rock feel to
it in terms of pace, like if Unsane were born of Norway Moore
'Swarming Funereal Mass' is slow burning
and slinky number, laced with grim and grimy flavours. It's my personal
favourite from the LP, speaking to my fondness for keeping a winding but steady
pace. Not as heavy or frenetic in any way as some other aspects of 'III', but
it still manages to crank up the riffs towards it's finale with some
satisfyingly simplistic crunch.
The
start of 'A Flood Of Eyes' brings to
mind the same electronic experimentalism of the recent Gnaw album, that kind of
dying machine wail that scared the shit out of me. As I noted earlier this
ain't your momma's BM album, not just a swirling mass of blast-beats and bullet
belts. The genre has become so intelligent in recent times and this is
proof. Textured, layered and, well, musical. It's extreme in so much that it
really isn't. This soft(ish) approach is quite disarming. For fans of banging
heads though it still nails in with some heavy laden drums at times, and it
exhibits it's strength through volume and power as opposed to speed. Really
good stuff.
It
seems a shame that this is the final Twilight album. Not in terms of poor
quality, quite the opposite. But if you'll pardon the upbeat tone I am
grateful. I hope that they are proud of bowing out with a strong final
accomplishment, because they should be. 'III' is dark, menacing and genre
boundary pushing. Never judge a black metal book by its cover, and don't expect
black metal dogs to be unable to learn new tricks. I hold my hands up and fully
acknowledge my more than pleasant surprise. Highly recommended.
Words by : Matt Fitton
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