LYCHGATE are one of London's most promising Extreme Metal acts, playing a very progressive, and full sounding, kind of Black Metal. Since forming in 2012, they've managed to build a cult following, largely off of the back of their debut, self-titled album. Their latest full length, "An Antidote For the Glass Pill", sees them expand on the foundations that their debut laid out, creating a record that is interesting and genuinely unique, sounding nothing like anything their contemporaries are producing.

"Unto My Tempest", the albums opening offering, is a short but extremely memorable introduction to this record. The eerie, dissonant organ music and sparse guitar lines used here really catch your attention , and the thick layer of atmospherics this track is layered with sound great. "Davamesque B2", the following track, continues in the same vein, with a lot of cool, eerie elements thrown into the music which makes it sound awesome. The core sound is clearly rooted in Black Metal, but this is far from just "another" Black Metal track; the organ pieces on here help to make this track sound different, and really beef out the sound of the overall song. It's a huge, cacophonous wall of sound that sounds both amazing and imposing. "I Am Contempt", another awesome song that utilises organs to great effect, sounds significantly more ferocious than the track which preceded it. The guitars sound great, with plenty of melodic hooks and different tones, and the vocal performance on here really helps make the track. The albums fourth offering, "A Principle on Seclusion", is perhaps one of the best tracks on offer on this record. The music sounds amazing on all fronts, especially the organs and vocals, which provide a lot of hooks on this particular song. "Letter XIX", with its cool intro with church bells and melodic guitars, sounds excellent. The organs don't feature anywhere near as prominently as they have on the previous four songs on here, but this allows for the rest of the musical elements, notably the guitars and drums, to come to the fore. There are moments of dissonance on here, which breaks the track up and keep it interesting, and ultimately this ends up being one of the most memorable offerings on here.

"Deus Te Videt" has a great atmospheric intro, which leads straight into some equally great, atmospheric music. There's some really cool chanted vocal parts as well, which work very well with the music. The main part of the song ends rather abruptly, and we get some more atmospherics which are very similar to those that open the song, and this leads us almost seamlessly into "The Illness Named Imagination"; again, the organ sections on this track take a back seat, although they are still featured throughout the track. The overall track is a great piece of Progressive Black Metal with some catchy riffs, jarring rhythms and imaginative drumming. "The Acousmatic Guardian" has a lot of really cool, varied vocal performances on it, as well as a short, but very good, solo keyboard piece. It's clear from the performance on here that Vortigern is a talented player, and this piece made this one of the albums stand out songs. "My Fate to Burn Forever", the records penultimate track, brings the album to a climax really well. It's a much more mid-paced song, and has the sort of great guitar lines and organ sections in it that are commonplace throughout the album. The final track on here, "The Pinnacle Known to Sisphus", is a really good way to close this record. It's got some killer lead guitar parts that set you up for the song right from the first note. We're treated to some more chanted vocals, which work really well here. It's one of the shortest tracks on the whole record, but it certainly leaves its mark, and leaves the listener wanting more.

Overall, this is a very good record. There are points where the keyboards and organs are a little too prominent in the mix, which prevents the rest of the music getting the attention it deserves, but other than that, it's very hard to find fault with this band and their music. It's a genuinely unique album, from a band that has their own distinct style and formula in a scene that is, for the most part, made up of bands who stick to a strict idea of what Black Metal should look and sound like. If you want to hear some really good, progressive sounding Black Metal music, this is well worth checking out.