Hank The Drifter

Lyrinx - Nihilistic Purity

1. Tides of Self Destruction 6:53
2. Nihilistic Purity 6:41
3. Another Life Ready to End 5:44
4. Deconstruction of the Will to Live 8:39
5. Exit - The Pain of Existence 2:48

Lyrinx is a black metal band that brings us some suicidal/depressive black metal from the United Kingdom. This is a four man band that's real names I'm not sure of, but what I do know is they know how to record some good music. Nihilistic Purity is a 30 minute ride that will bring your mood down to the floor. If you're looking for an album that will put a smile on your face you better run far away from this one.

Empty, void, bleak, nothingness, anger, hate is the only way to describe how Nihilistic Purity make you feel.

Nihilistic Purity is an album that breaks every rule for depressive black metal. This album shows some melodic parts, is quite catchy at times, and has more riffs than most bands in the genre generate in a career. Lyrinx's outside of the box thinking really pays off for the band though as it helps them to become more memorable. At times I can feel almost disoriented while listening to this album and I feel like I'm just floating through nothingness listening to a badass metal album. Personally, I don't think that's a bad place to be. I always like to try and touch base about vocals during black metal reviews because of the reaction so many people have to black metal vocals. For Lyrinx the vocals are mostly just background 'shrieks' that add a certain atmosphere to the music which adds to that disoriented feeling and not to mention helplessness. The drumming isn't the most interesting thing ever but it still works well for Lyrinx I think maybe with a little more work on them they could release a new flawless album. Uh, the production is also normally complained about on many black metal releases but for me this albums about as well produced as any small time black metal act will ever have. The production is raw but I can still hear the instruments clearly throughout the entire album and in my opinion that's how black metal should be recorded. Rough around the edges but plain enough to actually stomach. Lyrinx has combined the absolute chaotic feel of raw black metal bands and tried to mesh it together with the more melodic and nature inspired scene of today, and honestly, they pull it off nearly perfectly. This along with Gris which I reviewed earlier are probably two of the greatest albums I've ever heard from the depressive black metal stable, and possibly black metal in general and two of the greatest from metal in general, truthfully. I simply cannot get over the way this album can literally just pull all the emotion inside of you out and just make you feel:

Empty, void, bleak, nothingness, anger, hate.



9/10. Like I said one of the best albums from this stable I've heard.

This album wont be for everyone, that's something I will say. If you're trying to get into the depressive black metal gene you cannot go wrong with this EP. If you're already a fan of the genre and have not heard this EP... you're actually not. So, GET ON IT.

__________________
“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams