Having initially started out as a Thrash Metal band a decade ago, Greek band THY FLESH broke up soon thereafter, only to regroup six years later. And with the reformation and new lineup came a completely new sound: Black Metal! Needless to say, this piqued my interest, and I couldn't resist the temptation to review their debut effort "Thymiama Mannan".

Inspired by a book entitled "Ritual Poetry" written by drummer Athan, "Thymiama Mannan" consists of seven tracks of the purest twisted occultism with a total play-time of just under 40 minutes. However, some of THY FLESH's Thrash roots are still evident in the music, giving their songs a slightly old school Black Metal feel, which works well with the many other facets evident in the songs, and which lends the album a great deal of variation. Although, having said that, much of the initial part of the album relies on the "tried and tested" Black Metal, seeing THY FLESH head down the well-trampled path followed by a myriad of previous Black Metal efforts.

The band themselves claim to do "Black Metal with a touch of insanity to keep the wolves at bay", and this dash of madness is particularly palpable in the depraved and raspy vocals. This combined with the mesmerising riffs in the title track "Thymiama Mannan" and the infernal barrage that sounds like a demon knocking down the door of a church gives the song a ritualistic air. "Final Nights" conversely has a very Norwegian Black Metal sound to it, with frantic drumming and archetypal tremolo picked guitar parts. "Rape Magic" on the other hand has a more melodic feel to it, bringing to mind the earlier eras of SATYRICON. Contrariwise, "Temple of Absinth" is more maudlin, with a more mid-tempo pace and a haunting air that plunges you into the pits of depression. This all ends with "Extremity Unbound", a delectably sepulchre and twisted outro that gave me goose bumps with its discordant depravity. This trio deliver a strong album, with each song being a good addition to the album as a whole; there are no fillers or weak songs. However, there are also no particularly outstanding tracks either. Nevertheless, given that this is the band's debut, this is entirely forgivable.

Overall, as a release, "Thymiama Mannan" is decent, but considering it is just the debut, it is nothing short of great. The recording itself is clear whilst still managing to balance in enough rawness that keeps the music feeling earthy and organic, thereby avoiding sounding overproduced. I recommend this to anyone on the lookout for a good up-and-coming Black Metal band; just don't expect the reinvention of the wheel.