III: Beneath Trident's Tomb
Twilight
•
March 31, 2014
It is nearly impossible to compartmentalize TWILIGHT into a genre, regardless of their relatively well-known Black Metal personnel in their past and present line-up. "III: Beneath Trident's Tomb" will be the band's final endeavor, having recently announced their intent to break up. Unfortunate as this may be for the band's listeners, it may well seal the inescapably mystic nature of their music within the discography. I can guarantee you will never hear Black Metal quite like this.
"Lungs", an interesting title for a track that constricts breathing. Heavily layered in industrial effects on top of an extremely minimalistic, metal soundscape, the dirge-like nature of this track is formless, yet progresses with an unerring directive. "Oh Wretched Son" begins with EMPEROR-esque nuances, transgressing (regressing?) into thick and sludgy Doom territories. A long the way we hear smatterings of Black blast riffing, and some late-DARKTHRONE-inspired (when they decided they wanted to be a Punk band) passages. "Swarming Funereal Mass" is a true treat on the band's farewell piece, at a pace so low that it is a constant throb, permeating a darkly grim atmosphere.
"Seek No Shelter Fevered Ones" involves more starkly beautiful amalgamations of Black and Death, with incredibly creative drumming that drives many abrupt changes in tempo and timing. The effects on this track turn it into an unearthly, bleak journey. "A Flood of Eyes" manages to push the definition of eerie, more so than the band has done with previous tracks; unreadily accessible is an obscene understatement. "Below Lights" appears to fit a similar purpose as "Lungs", a heavily-Industrial track that is more so evocative in its atmosphere, as opposed to conveying with at least a semi-conventional song structure.
It is incredibly clear that the style of metal that TWILIGHT prefer to make is that which carefully engineers its fan base; a love or hate at first listen, and a fine example of the fickle subjectiveness of music. It is a firm belief of mine that there is music out there for everyone, and what TWILIGHT have shared with us is a unique art form of their own perfection, created seemingly deliberately with an inaccessibility that would deter all but die-hard fans.
8 / 10
Excellent
"III: Beneath Trident's Tomb" Track-listing:
1. Lungs
2. Oh Wretched Son
3. Swarming Funereal Mass
4. Seek No Shelter Fevered Ones
5. A Flood of Eyes
6. Below Lights
Twilight Lineup:
Imperial - Vocals
Wrest - Drums, Guitars, Bass
Sanford Parker - Guitars, Keyboards
Stavros Giannopoulos - Guitars
Thurston Moore - Guitars
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