Review from Ravenheart Music
Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 Under: Album Reviews
From: Raven Heart Music
Published: April 16, 2013
Original Link
Formed in 1996, Lycanthia carries with them a history spanning 17 years and are one of Australia's oldest surviving doom metal bands. A six piece band hailing from Sydney, Lycanthia play traditional gothic death-doom metal with a strong emphasis on atmosphere, melody, and the captivating use of alternating male growls (courtesy Lee Tassaker) and female soprano vocals from violinist and keyboardists Vanessa Black and Megan Tassaker. Comparisons could be drawn between Lycanthia and the sound found in the early "golden age" works of classic gothic doom bands such as My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Draconian, and Theatre of Tragedy. A flagship of this particular sound is the contrast between dark, aggressive, and heavy death-doom and softer moments courtesy of female vocals, keyboards, and violin arrangements, and Lycanthia does this extraordinarily well within he eight tracks on offer on this release. The 9 minute plus epic 'The Essential Components Of Misery' kick things off, and the title alone should tell you what path this band takes - Atmospheric Gothic Doom that the band does rather well. And the fact that the 9 minutes flies by suggests to me that the opener is pretty good! There is a short string instrumental before the captivating 7 minute plus 'Forgone' springs out of the speakers and I must admit this is rather good! 'Ablaze The Wheel Turns' maintains the doomy momentum as does effectively the remainder of the record. Some further epic numbers here including the near 10 minute 'Despondency In Crescendo' complete with a chiming bell. The vocal work is complimented nicely by six very competent musicians, with the whole affair being mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Opeth, Katatonia). The release of Oligarchy comes in a digipack format with an 8 page foldout booklet, while I would certainly recommended this to lovers of heavy, despairing, and powerfully melancholic music, otherwise it may not be quite your cuppa tea
Reviewed by: Dave
Rating: 7/10
Published: April 16, 2013
Original Link
Formed in 1996, Lycanthia carries with them a history spanning 17 years and are one of Australia's oldest surviving doom metal bands. A six piece band hailing from Sydney, Lycanthia play traditional gothic death-doom metal with a strong emphasis on atmosphere, melody, and the captivating use of alternating male growls (courtesy Lee Tassaker) and female soprano vocals from violinist and keyboardists Vanessa Black and Megan Tassaker. Comparisons could be drawn between Lycanthia and the sound found in the early "golden age" works of classic gothic doom bands such as My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Draconian, and Theatre of Tragedy. A flagship of this particular sound is the contrast between dark, aggressive, and heavy death-doom and softer moments courtesy of female vocals, keyboards, and violin arrangements, and Lycanthia does this extraordinarily well within he eight tracks on offer on this release. The 9 minute plus epic 'The Essential Components Of Misery' kick things off, and the title alone should tell you what path this band takes - Atmospheric Gothic Doom that the band does rather well. And the fact that the 9 minutes flies by suggests to me that the opener is pretty good! There is a short string instrumental before the captivating 7 minute plus 'Forgone' springs out of the speakers and I must admit this is rather good! 'Ablaze The Wheel Turns' maintains the doomy momentum as does effectively the remainder of the record. Some further epic numbers here including the near 10 minute 'Despondency In Crescendo' complete with a chiming bell. The vocal work is complimented nicely by six very competent musicians, with the whole affair being mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Opeth, Katatonia). The release of Oligarchy comes in a digipack format with an 8 page foldout booklet, while I would certainly recommended this to lovers of heavy, despairing, and powerfully melancholic music, otherwise it may not be quite your cuppa tea
Reviewed by: Dave
Rating: 7/10
In : Album Reviews
Tags: lycanthia oligarchy gothic doom metal atmospheric death-doom
