Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Lykotonon are a side project of the Atmospheric Black Metal band Wayfarer, and their debut album ‘Promethean Pathology’ blends Avant-Garde Black Metal with Death Metal, and has been released by renowned label Profound Lore Records on CD and LP.
Opening track ‘The Apocryphal Self’ delves straight into the heart of what Lykotonon is all about with a steady mid-paced brand of Black Metal surrounded by skittering Industrial flourishes. Most impressive to me are the vocals which add a power and confidence to the band’s aura that the guitar leads and drumming style lack. In fact, it is the bass leads that really make an impact here as well as some progressive sounding guitar rhythms, but the main structure of the band’s sound is pretty basic.
The definition of Avant-Garde is a new or experimental way of creating music, and my main issue with ‘Promethean Pathology’ is that it isn’t showcasing anything new or experimental. Industrial tinged Black Metal has been out in the open for the last thirty years and tacking on some mechanical glitchy soundtrack samples to bog standard Black Metal doesn’t constitute Experimental or Avant-Garde in my opinion.
With all of that being said, the album is well performed and I especially enjoyed the bass tones that are prominent in tracks such as ‘Wrested from Solace’ as well as some of the more Progressive Rock inspired rhythm guitar melodies that frequent this opus throughout. For me though, I want a band who labels themselves Experimental or Avant-Garde to do more than simply blend Black Metal with Fear Factory.
(5/10 Marksson)
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