Date Released: 12/08/2016
Label:
A.L.N.
demonstrates a penchant for punishing the listener in so many different ways,
but also establishes a talent for creating harmony layered within the chaos.
“Yodh” CS//DD//LP
track listing:
1). Woe Regains My Substance
2). A Semblance Waning
3). The Serpent Eats Its Tail
4). Inertia, an Ill Compeller
5). Bask in the Lingering
The Review:
A.L.N.
follows a long line of Pacific Northwestern musicians leading the charge for
American Black Metal. The mysterious multi-instrumentalist from Portland , Oregon
“Yodh” is broken into
five extended pieces that all have their share of A.L.N.’s ferocious growl,
mesmerizing doom riffs, and suffocating abrasive climaxes. All five tracks are
incredibly ambitious and while the track lengths can appear daunting “Yodh” does not suffer from any periods
of self-indulgence or overkill, each sequence being equally as gripping as the
last. These tracks feature multiple sequences that are woven in a way similar
to seventies prog rock. What differentiates Mizmor from other metal acts in
the same vein are the smooth transitions that remove any abruptness from
appearing, making this the perfect blend of black and doom metal stylings. This
album is downright heavy like a great doom record should be. “The Serpent Eats the Tail” has a
brilliant riff that would find itself right at home on an early Black Sabbath
record. “Yodh” is also as horribly
biting and desolate as a great black metal record, but does so in an incredibly
maximalist way. This record is beautifully mastered and sounds as sharp as any
metal record in recent memory. This mastering style paired with the black metal
traits gives the record a similar feel to Emperor’s “In The Nightside Eclipse”, in that it does not need to rely on
aesthetic or tradition to provide that eerie feeling of total misery.
A.L.N. is a master of sonic and vocal
diversity that makes the 60 minutes blow by as fast as the riffs themselves.
Rather than employing an utter scorched earth policy of heaviness, these tracks
offer a lot a breathing room within this bleak atmosphere. This is certainly a
technical release whose monoliths were created to be admired while dwarfing
whatever surrounds it. A.L.N. demonstrates a penchant for punishing the
listener in so many different ways, but also establishes a talent for creating
harmony layered within the chaos. Much like the world in which the record was
created, these tracks have a hidden beauty about them that can be lost in the
distracting clamor of what is immediately apparent. A.L.N. displays both what
is ugly as well as what is harmonious in a frighteningly familiar imbalance.
The grim heavily outweighs the allure in a way not totally dissimilar from what
so many of us are used to.
