Yyrkoon - Unhealthy Opera (2006)

Whatever downwards momentum the French band had suffered in their 'oniric' transition from debut to sophomore was surely halted at the mighty Occult Medicine, upon which Yyrkoon finally declared that they were indeed a DEATH metal band and decided to act like such was the case, without entirely abandoning their progressive and melodic inclinations. That 2004 effort was and remains clearly my favorite of the band's favorite work, but it's follow-up Unhealthy Opera is thankfully not far behind in terms of effective power, as the band shun none of that newly discovered surge in brutality. Like its predecessor, though, this album is a far cry from mindless guttural banality, but an explosion of taste that never once abandons that fundamental concept inherent in 99% of good metal: the fucking riff.

Yes, the guitars are as carefully constructed as the album's next eldest sibling, and the result is pure, unconcealed excellence. The immediacy of the dark ambient intro "Something Breathes" parts for the shifting juggernaut of the title track, storms of thick riffs glistening against the melodic subtext, grooves emerging and then submerging throughout the verse as the drums lilt and stagger. Naturally, this track builds an enthusiasm that the band are not about to let loose, as they quake through the punishing developments of "From the Depths" and the caustic bounce of "Avatar Ceremony". Once the beautiful guitar instrumental "Temple of Infinity" cedes to the crushing "Abnormal Intrusion", it becomes clear that this is going to be quite the solid goddamn album, and there is nothing to sway you from this opinion later, for tracks "Screaming Shores", "Horror from the Sea" and the jerking closer "...of Madness" all deliver. "The Book" is probably the least interesting track here, but it's still heavily laden in explosive dynamics and deep enough grooves that there's no sore thumb about it.

In fact, if there's anything inferior here to Occult Medicine, it's solely the fact that the band is carving out more of the same turf, without the absolutely surprise by which that particular effort took me. I wasn't hoping for much after the rather average Dying Sun, but the band amplified their effectiveness in coordination with their commitment to extremity, and Stéphane Souteyrand has never sounded this good before, his throat finding not only power in the low end, but also his cleans are more sparse and improved. This is a direct continuance of that cycle, with the individual riffs perhaps being fleshed out ever so slightly, mildly more accessible than the stupendous bombast of their 2004 opus, but barking up such a similar tree that the fan of one has no choice but to experience the glory of the other. Season with some Andy LaRocque guest leads ("Horror from the Sea") and Mythos-inspired lyrics, and the album well earns its keep. Though in recent years the band has taken a hiatus, and we may never hear from them again, Yyrkoon should nonetheless be praised for breaching the creative cocoon of their earlier efforts to metamorphose into one of the very finest of French death metal artists.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (behind this irreversible theater)

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Dying Sun (2002)

One wouldn't have to plumb far into the depths of Dying Sun to note its improvements over Yyrkoon's debut Oniric Transition, because those that exist are largely worn on the surface, in the area of production. The guitars, in particular, sound far more potent, with a thicker, melodic broth to them and less reliance on synthesizers. The riffs are not necessarily evolved to another plateau of composition, for they very closely resemble their predecessors, only delivered with a finer set piece this time around, partially due to the new members the band had attained, including a new axeslinger in François Falempin. Alas, there is also a downside to Dying Sun, and that's the rather haphazard lack of the debut's intriguing atmosphere in a mad rush to write more accessible material more clearly streamlined into the 'melodic death' category.

The band uses a lot of crossover between clean and harsh vocals this time around, and it's not always to the benefit of the songs. "Crystal Light" and "Flight of the Titan" are two examples, the latter particularly confused with its mix of gang shouts, clean soaring vox and largely uplifting rhythm guitars. Gone are the muted, fantastical hues of the debut, and we're left with something far more typical, and the jury's out on whether Yyrkoon are able to pull it off. "The Clans" and "Stolen Souls" offer a few good riffs each, but they're ultimately mediocre when rubbed against the better acts of Finland or Sweden. In fact, the best tracks found on Dying Sun are those that experiment the most, like the vast rhythmic dynamics of the progressive "Back to the Cave" or the jack hammering swaths of melody and aggressive that dominate the unfortunately titled "Thrash 'Em All". Then again, the instrumental "Gods of Silver" is your typical melodic death piece with added noodling, and "Screamer" is very inconsistent, with its mesh of progressive embellishments and mundane death/thrash.

For some reason, I really don't enjoy Stéphane Souteryand's clean approach to much of this record, and while it's not a negative to hear his capabilities in such a range, they feel rather messy over the substance of the meatier riffs. Perhaps this hurdle is due to his natural accent, perhaps not, but combined with the inconsistency of the music, it all culminates in what I find to be the least impressive Yyrkoon album. Oniric Transition certainly didn't have the tight and controlled mix of its successor, but at least it had charm, where this feels like a pretty daft peripheral to most of the European melodic death that was occurring at the time. When matched against one of the era's defining works like a Natural Born Chaos or Damage Done, Dying Sun is simply no structural comparison. There are well implemented ideas here or there, and it feels like a sure footed stepping stone towards their later, greater efforts Occult Medicine and Unearthly Opera, but I wouldn't never seek it out with those options available.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Forgotten Past EP (2000)

After their debut Oniric Transition met with only a very small success, the French band Yyrkoon decided to follow it with this self released demo/EP Forgotten Past, seeking out an even deeper and darker symphonic sound. The result is perhaps the least impressive of their works, but still features a few traits associated with the first album, namely the swerving bass performance and the mix of snarled and clean vocals, and decent leads. Compared to their recent output, this is a lot more focused on using keyboards as the primary element of composition, and often the guitars just chug along with a sluggish interest, the riffs never really standing out from the dense, haunted castle embellishments.

Of the three tracks here, the two longer pieces are the most worthy of attention. "Forgotten Past" and "Enclosed in a Dream" are both dark, symphonic, with the latter containing the better use of the guitars. Each is over seven minutes in length, longer even than the more bloated tracks on Oniric Transition, but they fortunately don't become tired, only underwhelming when compared to the band's earlier and later material. I'd almost say that they resemble the mid 90s efforts like Passage by Samael, but they're nowhere near as catchy and the actual drumming differs from Xytras and his machinery. "Schyzophrenic Carnage" is a more brutal and grooving track, but since it's re-recorded and far superior on the Occult Medicine in 2004, there's no reason to pay it mind here.

Forgotten Past is extremely rare, but last I checked, you could listen to "Forgotten Past" and "Enclosed in a Dream" on Youtube. Coming in the middle of the four year period between Oniric Transition and Dying Sun, it certainly doesn't incite much hope for the future of the band, but thankfully those are words I'll be eating. Unlike Oniric Transition, there's just no promise here, almost as if Yyrkoon gave up to trend and decided to delve into the symphonic black metal of the time, only with less black metal ingredients. The EP doesn't exactly suck, but unless you are hell bent on experiencing obscure, simplistic haunted castle style atmospheric death metal, with few guitar riffs to write home about, I'd advise you to start anywhere else in their catalog.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Oniric Transition (1998)

France has long been hallowed as a grounds for innovation in the black metal genre, but what of its death metal scene? Certainly, acts like Carcariass, Gorod and Atrophy stand out for their dizzying acts of unusual technicality, but Yyrkoon, named for the original nemesis and cousin of Michael Moorcock's fictional character Elric of Melnibone, wore a different stripe. Unshackled by the scripture of brutality and convention, they've undergone an interesting evolution through their career, which was 'officially' launched with this debut Oniric Transition in 1998, after the band's Oath, Obscure, Occult demo two years prior.

This is an unusual album, or rather an album of disparate parts merged into a functional framework. Yyrkoon were at this time a stark fusion of black, death, thrash and symphonic metal, all incorporating a progressive leaning largely through the song structure and the melodic lead work, the last of which was not all that far from what Death were doing in the 90s. As a result, the album can suffer from a mild lack of coordination, but so many of the individual pieces are pleasant to listen through that it ultimately succeeds. Perhaps not to the extent that later, more aggressive efforts like Occult Medicine and Unhealthy Opera succeed, but for 1998 it was an interesting footnote on a shifting landscape of emergent and transforming genres. Though the production of the whole affair feels little more than a glorified demo, its use of horror, occult and fantasy lyrics among the atmospheric sequences and largely effective guitar riffs is still refreshing over a decade out.

The center pieces are here are the real treats, and by these I refer to the longer compositions like "Throne of Complains", "The Awakening" and "Wind of Decline", each of which cycle through a fairly expansive number of riffs on their paths to the memory. Yyrkoon are capable of busting out memorable lines of melodic death or thrash metal amidst segues of heavily synthesized epic black/death metal, and this uncanny ability to bounce back and forth makes each a joy to listen. None of these tracks stretches on too long in any one particular tempo, and at worst they could be accused of carrying too much weight. Other tracks like "Elemental Storm" and the soaring, atmospheric "Lost Ideal" with its clean vocals, are likewise curious, and the remainder of the album consists of shorter 1-2 minute intros and interludes which are more or less forgettable.

Stéphane Souteryand's vocals do somewhat hold the album back from greatness, for while he expresses competence in his various snarls and howls, it's strangely his cleans that are the most effective. Also, as mentioned, the mix is pretty weak, the guitars feel very thin as they allow the synthesizers and pianos to breathe perhaps too fully, and a remaster of this with thicker tone would go a long way towards adding much needed power to the more emotional phrases. But aside from this, and the often scattershot feeling you get when the band continues to cycle out change after change, there are not a lot of complaints to be had with Oniric Transition. It was a sound debut for a solid career, and while it bears only a passing similarity to their later, better albums, you can hear the creative larva within as it struggles to chew the brains of its hosts.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Occult Medicine (2004)

Yyrkoon, another in a long line of brilliant metal bands from France, draws its name from the saga of Elric. Despite always wanting to read it, I haven't, so if that name connects into their music at all I couldn't tell you. However, I have a pretty good feeling this album is unrelated to that fantasy series.

The title is fairly self-explanatory as to the lyrical content of the album. Mad doctors, twisted experiments, the living dead, and so forth. Musically we have death metal with a thrash component, along the lines of Darkane. There's a fair amount of atmosphere strewn amongst the frenetic tunes, and Yyrkoon aren't afraid to bring some melody to the table -- so expect some departures from the death metal onslaught. They are not pervasive, though.

The fifth track, the title track, opens on something of an ambient passage, the beep of a heart monitor along with nightmarish, skittering strings, sounding (very) briefly like a long-lost sibling of Bohren & der Club of Gore. We hear the sounds of a tesla coil before the song truly begins. The backbone riff of the song is somewhat technical, energetic and yet still dark. Stéphane Souteryrand's somewhat accent-inflected vocals fit right in, ranging from death growls to more straightforward clean singing and everything in between. The lyrics seem to be slightly hampered by the band's limited grasp on English, but their English is a hell of a lot better than my French, so I can't complain much.

"Revenant Horde" is the sixth track, and is about zombies. I'm for it. "Reversed World" expands further on that topic. All in all the album is very enjoyable, and it does its subject matter justice. My main gripe with it is after repeated listens the songs begin to blend together somewhat, keeping it from reaching a higher score from me.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (madness begins where your reason stops)

http://www.yyrkoon.net/