Another day another band that probably deserves a lot more attention. Lyfthrasyr have been largely overlooked outside their native Germany which seems strange given the vast number of symphonic black metal also-rans that get so much praise. Quite how many bands we need bending our ears with their CoF or Dimmu reverence is beyond me but it does surprise me that innovation in the genre still feels so limited given the abundance of bands. So thank the dark lord that Germany has thrown out of its metal underbelly Lyfthrasyr to cast new throbbing, electronically-charged light on the genre. The band produced a pretty solid album last time round with The Recent Foresight – a ferocious, hook-filled piece of melodic death meets symphonic black metal that easily rose itself above the morass. This time round they’ve taken their melodic edge – increasingly verging on a techno influence rather than the standard symphony backing-track – and put it into overdrive.
Now, let’s face it, the history of combining heavy metal and electronic music is a road strewn with casualties and a story I will not enter into here. Suffice to say that it is best achieved with huge restraint and the responsible acknowledgement that a perfect fusion will probably still always sound a bit crap to the vast majority of us. Yes, ‘small doses’ is where it’s at. You need not worry: restraint and respect is the watch word here. Lyfthrasyr’s dabbling with electronica never ever gets out of control and is used by founder member Aggreash and co. with the aim of helping those cascading riffs and jackhammer drums into another stratosphere altogether. Does it work? Oh yes, it works like a dark, pulsing charm. The album pulls together a whole load of influences and packages them all superbly behind some excellent production that makes for a nice, multi-dimensional feel.
Whereas The Recent Foresight probably peaked on the penultimate track Obsession in a Convenient Manner, this time round presents a more complete experience. So much so it’s difficult to know what to pick as the album’s highlight. The irresistible 90s rave-inspired opener The New Era of Immortality probably wins for pointing us clearly in the band’s chosen direction, then there’s the full-on second track Soul Transition Interface, the dark, brooding Mind Simulator and then the completely frenetic but addictive Wisdom In The Loop.
There are moments when Lyfthrasyr’s influences hang heavy before us. At times I’m not sure how far removed some of this stuff is from bands like from Dark Tranquillity, despite being generations apart, and at others it’s pretty damn close to kick drumming might of Fear Factory. Then there are the slightly idiosyncratic, over-laid pianos that keep dropping in and the occasional gothic whispered moments which at first had me stumped. But, a lot of those peculiarities are just the sign of a band testing its boundaries and there are a lot worse things you could say about a band than it occasionally indulges itself as it finds its way. And none of those things really take away from the rampant energy that The Engineered Flesh otherwise has. In fact, with repeated listens those elements that at first held me back a little, eventually just became part of the whole. As things unfolded, the album begins to carve its own path.
It’s a departure from The Recent Foresight in that this time Lyfthrasyr are really exploring the possibilities and, of the two, this is definitely the sure sign this band is becoming a lot more interesting and really marks the bands signature proper. A worthy addition for all those people trawling for melodic death or symphonic black metal bands and complaining of feeling a bit jaded. Lyfthrasyr will take your worthless human brain and rewire it for their own, evil ends.
(8/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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