From Bandcamp, "Born around a mysterious and prolific American underground label known as Moonlight Cypress Archetypes, SKYTHALA are an even bigger enigma. Its members come from Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee, but also from New Jersey, and their proposal is a strange and exciting combination of Black Metal, Death Metal and Russian Neoclassical music, especially that of Igor Stravinsky. Thus was born "Boreal Despair," a surprising debut album in which oboes, bassoons and trombones assist the ultra-heavy guitars typical of extreme metal in rich and full-bodied arrangements at the service of dissonant melodies. SKYTHALA's scores are dizzyingly Progressive and Avant-Garde, yet on no occasion does their overwhelming creativity repress their blinding Metal fury." The album has six songs.

"Eternal Nuclear Dawn" is the first. The sound is indeed strange...the bottom end is heavy and aggressive with lots of drums & cymbals, while the guitars create some light melodies. This turn even more odd from there. A scream ushers in chaotic sounds with harrowing background elements. Avant-Garde? Absolutely. "Variegated Stances of Self-Mockery" is another dark and aggressive offering, more in line with traditional Black Metal but still fairly loose in terms of the structure. The chaos drops before the half-way mark, with horns and other eerie sounds. A gloomier sound takes over towards the end.

"Boreal Phrenological Despair" is a harrowing affair. Following some opening clean guitars, the sound expands into a full Black Metal palate, complete with backing elements that are just a tinge melodic. The contrast between the two sounds is exactly what the band was going for. The chaos increases until dissonant organ tones lead to a turbulent ending. "Rotten Wooden Castles" features a landscape of frightening images to scary to open your eyes to. Close them and let the sound rise and fall around you. Mesmerizing elements and a thick, choky riff eventually replace them. A guitar solo picks up some of the sound, but the dissonant elements rule. "At Dawn They Walk" is almost akin to watching an ever-growing group of zombies walk around aimlessly. There is some structure, but is buried pretty far beneath the odd organ notes, vocals, and the constant heavy thuds of the drummer.

"Yielding Quivers of Revolution" closes the album. It has a little more structure but is still fairly Avant-Garde. Overall, this was highly personal interpretation of music in general. Although one could argue that at its core, it is Black Metal, that is a very loose definition. This music is just too weird to recommend to anyone in my opinion. I appreciate the musicianship and personal integrity of the artist's interpretations of music, which isn't something that I can say very often. I also appreciate the record label's efforts because they have one of the most unique cadre of artists out there. In the end, however, I'm afraid this was just too odd.Purchase Link:

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/boreal-despair