Being a serious fan of music has parallels to avid sports fans.  Everyone has their favorite players, and we often ponder what it would be like to form various combinations of lineups.  TWILIGHT formed in 2004 composed of one of the most solid lineups, if not THE most solid lineup of any USBM band.  Releasing just three full-length albums, the band have now released their final EP entitled "Trident Death Rattle".  With material recorded during the sessions for their last full-length, "III:  Beneath the Tridents Tomb" in 2012, the lineup features Wrest (LEVIATHAN), Blake Judd (NACHTMYSTIUM), N. Imperial (KRIEG), Thurston Moore (SONIC YOUTH), Scott Judd (Blake's uncle who played in 2014 with NACHTMYSTIUM and also hails from the Chicago bluegrass group TANGLEWEED), and Sanford Parker (BURIED AT SEA, CORRECTIONS HOUSE).  Those unfamiliar with the band may be shocked to see Thurston Moore in the lineup, but as it turns out, he is an extremely devout disciple of True Black Metal.  Contained within are three songs that certainly not only benefit from the myriad talent involved, but also stretch the imagination of the genre.

The EP explodes into a diabolical cacophony when "This Road South" starts off the album.  The Black Metal is so thick, it sounds like a high-speed train descending south into hell.  It also has a distinct Punk Rock vibe, the spirit of being on the very verge of completely uncontrollable anarchy.  The two genres have always shared many similarities, and this first track is a fitting exposition of their likenesses.  The last track, titled "Weathered Flame," contains an almost Southern-sounding pentatonic riff and ultra-thick, syrupy bass, drowning in distortion.  The guitars are despondent and deeply furious alongside the unholy screams of terror.

It must be stated unequivocally that the bass sounds amazing.  Its tone rivals the dirty hum of a motorcycle giving a further dimension of fullness to the overall sound of the band.  The drums are simple and to the point, executed just as called for by the music.  There is a huge organic guitar sound, pushed to the very limit of over-saturation with plenty of mid-range to give it girth and treble to nail the Black Metal tone.  The vocals are frightful howls of horror, the sounds uttered when one solitarily gazes up to see heaven yet is bubbling over in the waves of the crimson fiery lake.

Some of the best Black Metal bands to have existed have been supergroups or side projects as such:  1349, ARCTURUS, and WURDULAK to name a few.  It's a shame the band has disbanded.  Surely, with the plethora of talent that has now commingled, something else is bound to be down the road for some or all of the musicians, if not simply new releases from all of the quality bands that serve as their main focus.  Those releases could not come soon enough.