{"id":101949,"date":"2020-05-19T11:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=101949"},"modified":"2020-05-18T18:47:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T23:47:12","slug":"may-roundup-black-metal-dark-folk-dungeon-synth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/may-roundup-black-metal-dark-folk-dungeon-synth\/","title":{"rendered":"May Roundup: Black Metal, Dark Folk & Dungeon Synth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The latest from Yoth Iria<\/strong>, Cosmic Burial<\/strong>, S H R I E K I N G<\/strong>, Puddleglum<\/strong>, H\u00e4xanu<\/strong>, & Grift<\/strong>. Also Bhleg<\/strong> & Nechochwen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Yoth Iria<\/strong> – Under His Sway<\/em><\/p>\n

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From the late ’80s onward, Jim Mutilator worked to make himself a household name in the Greek black metal scene. Best known as the bassist for two legends (Rotting Christ<\/strong> and Varathron<\/strong>) and appearing on both bands’ demos, Varathron’s debut and Rotting Christ’s three first full-lengths, he continued to collaborate with them as a lyricist even after his departure. Besides his playing in bands, he used to run a label called Curious Goods Productions, owned a record store called Metal Era, co-published the Genital Necrosis zine and contributed to Heavy Metal Cosmos webzine.<\/p>\n

But slowly he began to drift into relative obscurity, and after relinquishing his store in 2009, he largely disappeared form the active scene\u2014until last year, when his vocals could be heard on the first track of Mystifier<\/strong>‘s comeback album, followed by an announcement he had joined the reformed Medieval Demon<\/strong>. Then this year word got out he had reunited with Wampyr Magus Daoloth, his former Rotting Christ collaborator. Not long after, Under His Sway,<\/em> the duo debut EP as Yoth Iria<\/strong>\u00a0dropped, shadowed by news of Magus’ Necromantia<\/strong> bandmate Baron Blood’s passing, for whom the EP was dedicated to.<\/p>\n

Though officially a duo, on Under His Sway<\/em> Yoth Iria’s lineup was rounded out by a cavalcade of star musicians: keyboardist John Patsouris, drummer Maelstrom (Embrace of Thorns<\/strong>\/Dephosphorus<\/strong>) and guitarist George Emmanuel (Lucifers Child<\/strong>). Each musician was carefully chosen for both their talent and also based on how well they fit the entity. Patsouris would appear to have family ties to Mutilator, Maelstrom performs with Magus in both Thou Art Lord<\/strong> and The Principality of Hell<\/strong>, and Emmanuel would also record, mix and master the EP.<\/p>\n

At its heart the opening title track is a classic Greek black metal track, driven by its melodic riffs with that unmistakably Greek flavour. Its chorus takes a trajectory from classic to modern as the riffs take a sharper, jerking form and a ritualistic use of choir draws comparisons to later Rotting Christ, and this is where I would say Emmanuelle’s influence is best heard. His playing is informed by the decade he spent in Rotting Christ and the mix draws to further close the gap between the two bands\u2014though the sound should perhaps be associated with Emmanuelle himself, and not any given band, considering he engineered and mixed Rotting Christ’s albums during his tenure as well.<\/p>\n

“Sid Ed Djinn” takes Yoth Iria to a much darker place, as the doomy opening riff, Middle-Eastern vocal stylings and a scarce choir come together for a gloomy effect before an outburst of violence and aggression sweeps it away. With the reappearance of the sadly uncredited Middle-Eastern vocals and brief moments of calm, it’s a much more dynamic track than the first and bodes extremely well for the band’s future, which shouldn’t take too long to manifest considering Mutilator reportedly has two full-lengths composed. It should perhaps be noted that the composing of said full-lengths began over a decade ago, so they can hardly be blamed for hurrying their material. Hopefully it’s not a sign of their pace to come.<\/p>\n

Closing with a cover of Rotting Christ’s “Visions of the Dead Lovers”, Under His Sway<\/em> is a promising game opener from a group we will hopefully be hearing about for years to come. These men were there when these sounds were created, and it’s good to hear them take advantage of the style’s progression since, incorporating the best of both worlds into their music.<\/p>\n