By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 02/02/2017
Label:
Itawak
Records
Strasbourg’s Yurodivy have created an intriguing debut album in the
form of “Aphos”, an epic suite of furious chaotic hardcore
with dark melodic undertones. Yurodivy take some familiar sounds and meld them
into enthralling new forms on “Aphos”. It is a captivating debut statement
brimming with potential for future releases.
“Aphos” DD//LP track listing:
A1
- Six Feet Under Water
A2
- The Way Of The Light
A3
- Ascension
A4
- 40 Days
A5
- Now You Can Feed The Monster Part I
B1
- Now You Can Feed The Monster Part II
B2
- Children Of The Sun
B3
- In The Violence Of The Ashes
B4
- War Drums
B5
- Necessary
B6
- Genesis 1.6
The Review:
Strasbourg’s
Yurodivy have created an intriguing debut album in the form
of “Aphos”, an epic
suite of furious chaotic hardcore with dark melodic undertones.
The
opening trio of “Six Feet Under Water”,
“The Way Of The Light” and “Ascension” provide an exhilarating
start; schizophrenic blasts of raging punk rock, angular Botch
style riffage and ominous spacious doom chords. The band negotiate the changes
in style with fluid ease resulting in taut tracks of tension and release.
The
next two tracks see an abrupt shift into tone that works to great effect. “40 Days” is an absorbing nine minute
monster that moves between periods of ominous calm and clanging full-band
heaviness. The vocals during the quiet sections are particularly eerie, a
spooked, distant muttering riddled with desperation. A menacing piano and
feedback laden drone consumes the din and casts a hypnotic spell that is soon
shattered by the crushing finale.
“Now You Can Feed The Monster Parts 1 &
2” continues this mood, beginning with hushed picked guitars that recall
the powerful screamo grandeur of City of Caterpillar.
The track slowly builds in intensity and eventually gives way to a barrage of
off-kilter riffage. This acts as the perfect lead-in to the face-melting triple
threat of “Children Of The Sun”, “In The Violence Of The Ashes” and “War Drums”. These three short bursts
see Yurodivy throw away all restraint to unleash
feral doses of raging blast-beat riddled mayhem.
The
final act of “Necessary” and “Genesis” find Yurodivy
taking a slightly calmer approach to end the record. The former is a restrained
effects-laden piece that brings the previously hinted at At The Drive-In
and Mars Volta influences to the fore,
particularly on the vocal front. “Genesis”
continues the work established by “Necessary”
and reintroduces some of the earlier harshness to bring all of the threads of
the album together in satisfactory fashion.
Yurodivy
take some familiar sounds and meld them into enthralling new forms on “Aphos”. It is a captivating debut
statement brimming with potential for future releases.
“Aphos”
is available here
