Artist: Zyklon
Label: Candlelight Records
Release Date: 2/12/01
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Title: World Ov Worms Artist: Zyklon Label: Candlelight Records Release Date: 2/12/01 |
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Abyss's Review:
Not to be confused with Zyklon-B, Zyklon, apparently, is not a side-project for Samoth (now Zamoth) and Trym of Emperor fame, but is a full-time band. Of course, by definition, it is impossible to have two full time bands (hence the phrase “full time”), but so many side projects find the term offensive, there is now no longer such a thing. The “side project” has gone the way of the dinosaur. So I guess I’ll call Zyklon (not to be confused with Zyklon-B, remember) a lateral undertaking. It appears the band wants to be referred to as “Extreme Metal” which encapsulates the entire metal spectrum, and they are in no way a clone of the Emperor sound.
"...not to be confused with Zyklon-B, mind you"
With this in mind, I load my CD player and begin my introduction to Zyklon (not to be confused with Zyklon-B, mind you). What do I hear? Well, as it happens the first moments of the first track sounds like it could’ve been taken right off of Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. While this normally wouldn’t bother me, I was wondering why the Hell they went through all of the trouble of emphasizing how original Zyklon (not to be confused… ya know, if you don’t want it confused with Zyklon-B why don’t you just call it Shoe Polish, or Table Salt, or Zide Projeckt, or, I don’t know… anything except Zyklon!) is.
"This album smokes from start to finish." Thankfully, for my sanity if not anything else, these guys do deliver on their promise, as each additional track expresses a different aspect of metal. Largely a death metal release, here we get to see these Norweigan boys attempt groove and brutality, aside from the normal blasphemous, chaotic Black Metal that they’re known for. But we also see a techno, almost house music side to the band that could have been abysmal if not for it’s impressive execution.
And these guys have the talent to get it done. This album smokes from start to finish, taking the listener on a wild ride of whirling guitars and punishing rhythms, punctuated by a thick and deserving death growl, that could make many mainstays of the Death genre jealous.
Death's Review:
While I'm sure the black metal purists hate it, to these ears it sure is nice to watch the recent development of some of the subgenre's top-level acts. Most of the early black metal bands of top-level import (or at least fame) have gravitated toward some sort of musical experimentation, expansion, or not so subtle style- shift. Yet this experimentation has led the many different acts in several markedly different directions. For example, while Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir increasingly infuse more [relatively] "commercially palatable" and "mainstream" goth, horror and fantasy elements into their still clearly metal and sometimes almost traditional heavy metal mix, The Kovenant and Mayhem experiment with such radically new sounds and imagery that many are left to question whether these bands continue to even logically relate to the black metal roots from which they once spawned.
The recently-announced as "studio only" project known as Emperor needs no introduction. Anyone who paid attention to the blacker end of the late-nineties metal spectrum knows that Emperor's own musical evolution was of a more complex, and frankly more purely metal, grade. The same is true of the debut from Zyklon (NOTE TO ERADERS: Zyklon is a "new" band, and NOT a continuation of Zamoth's old project, Zyklon-B), with Zamoth and Trym doing double duty in both bands. Zyklon infuse technical thrash with Morbid -style death in pursuit of the ultimate sound to rise from the extreme black arts. The result is quite effective.
"Full of completely blasphemous speed." Even in their spacy moments like "Chaos Deathcult" or the intro to "Zycloned," Zyklon have more of a Pandemonium -era Celtric Frost mixed with Rage - style Queensryche kinda feel, rather than the warmed- over Marilyn Manson of bands like The Kovenant. And when the crushing begins again ("Storm Detonation," the rest of "Zycloned") the imapct is critical, like At the Gates, Kreator, Death and crazy black speed. Trust me, it is a lethal combination.
The blackened elements even work for me, generally a non- black metal fan. Still, they are few and far between. This is extreme metal, as much death and Neurosis-style experimental as anything else, at once Sepultura, at others Immolation, and at the same time full of completely blasphemous speed. World Ov Worms ultimately suceeds primarily because it is delivered with a passion, a professionalism, and most assuredly a dark and sinister (or as the Zyklon website describes the lyrics penned by the infamous Bard Faust, more likely "anti-religious" and "apocalyptic") purpose. From the opening moments of the crushing and riff- filled "Hammer Revelation," it is clear that Zyklon are artful purveyors of the metallic arts, whatever subgenre they fit in to. If you are even remotely interested in the idea of former black metal pioneers moving into technical, moshy mid-tempo double-bass drum riffing (try the 1:30-3:00 (or thereabouts) mark of the awesome "Worm World" or the technical Morbid-style riffs which encompass the end of "Hammer Revelation" or the Forbidden -style technical speed of the beginning of "Trancendental War - Battle Between Gods") which is still subtly crafted amidst layered, interesting and extreme vocal stylings and tasteful keyboard augmentation and interruptedly at regular interevals for putions of speed, then check out Zyklon. This one is worth your time.
"This one is worth your time."
Hel's Review:
Zyklon is a pretty cool name. The music they play is pretty cool too. Mostly death metal, but with a black metal influence evident at times, amongst other things. This is just the kind of album I always seem to like, and like it I do.
"If you are looking for more drama with your death metal, Zyklon may be the solution you've been searching for." What truly makes this album interesting is the occasional dual-vocal interplay that is most prominent in "Chaos Deathcult". This particular song goes on to incorporate a trippy little spoken bit with voice samples and spacey Tomorrowland-style music in the background, which makes for an interesting change. Zyklon has a penchant for the unexpected, and each time I thought I had it all figured out, they surprised me again.
This is not your run-of-the-mill death metal album. A bit more chaotic, a bit more experimental, bits more out-there than you generally encounter. If you are looking for more drama with your death metal, Zyklon may be the solution you've been searching for. If not, it's fun to listen to anyway.
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