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"Horror.
Horror has a face, and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and
mortal terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies
to be feared".
Colonel
Kurtz' monologue in Apocalypse Now could describe well what i
think about Yyrkoon's intention. I think Yyrkoon
are here to stay in order to picture horror through music. And
fear. With brutal heaviness and resolute melodies. They
know the horrors that seem morbidly inscribed in our genes, and ,
as such, very fertile for fiction and myths . It
might appear no new intent, yet Yyrkoon have the potentiality to
become technical, compact, menacing titans in the future, dealing
with lyrics around complex and fearful topics. No matter if
fiction-based or not. With this new fourth album, follow-up to
2004's Occult Medicine, recorded again at the Danish Hansen Studios,
this French band makes an important step. Unhealthy Opera is
aggressive New Breed Thrash, influenced by the German combos of the
genre, mixed with fierce Death a bit in Florida style,
and with an active Melodic Death, plus a noticeable contribution
of Black Metal techniques scattered in many tracks. Even the
melodic breakdowns, the guitar arpeggios, the solos are
always very strong, gloomy , never passively sorrowful. Yyrkoon
are brutal in the more melodic moments too, nonetheless their
sound is well processed, with care in any detail. They may give the
impression to be raw, but in reality they aren't. The background is full
, the sound round and intense. Riffs are varied and dynamic
yet utterly solid and incredibly tight, they
explode like a series of grenades. The mixture of influences
makes Yyrkoon sinister and quite peculiar, although you can
find similarities starting from Carcass to Dew-Scented, from Grave
to Immortal and old Agathodaimon, from the brutal
attitude of Harmony Dies and Aborted, till the horizon of some American
hardcore.
 Yyrkoon
are technical, however they create riffs and loops that impress and
appeal instantly. Anyway don't expect immediate main stream
catchiness , but , already after a second listening, you
acquaint yourself very good. The way of playing is expert and
dedicated, the sound color is split in the thunderous
disrupting rhythmic session and the bright lead solos.
Lyrics
are mainly inspired by scary Lovecraft-ian, Necronomicon-ian
nightmares as the myth of Chtulu, the Old Ones, the Ancient Gods,
different races of terror between fishes and men (this reminds of
Lovecraft's Dagon too) mainly dwelling the depths of the sea (Horror
from the Sea) . The horror is the menace of a twisted nature,
the horror is a book in the sand, with skin pages written
with blood (the Book), the
horror are pagan offerings in occult ceremonies (Avatar
Ceremony). But the horror is also a sick excruciating scalpel
(Lair ...of Madness) .
Although considered , and since long, by other bands too, Yyrkoon
refresh these topics and rip a lot. There is even no big use
of ambience samples, the terror is smashed thanks to the
bone-breaking riffs and a mighty, resolute drumming. There
is even no need to be macabre, after all. Yyrkoon aren't macabre.
Just in search of the seeds of Evil. Try to listen them
through a PC connected to a mighty woofer and subwoofer
system: Unhealthy Opera will explode in your chest, passing
through the diaphragm. It is the best way to appreciate how truly
Yyrkoon can tear you brutally..
Among
the more enjoyable and nech-breaking songs, the ones whose riffs
enter at once your mind, i would like to mention Avatar
Ceremony, The Book, and ...Of Madness, being these 2
ones my fav. But the instrumental Temple
of Infinity is a real pleasure of acoustic arpeggio
embroideries that intertwine with a wide carpet of guitar/samples that
bring you at the sea shore; while the title track, Unhealthy
Opera, is trashy in pure New Breed version, with
a great dose of violence and fast nervous aggression united
with Melodic Black breakdowns and virtuoso sharp solos, it is a very
interesting track of impact. Unhealthy Opera is preceded by
Something breaths, the impending
ambience intro in full sci-fi movie style. From
the Dephts is a constantly eruptive and violent
mid/uptempo with a melodic lead guitar in American fashion. Avatar
Ceremony begins with a distinctive caterpillar loop that will
recur and enslave again after a pouring rain of brutal grunts and
uncompromising Thrash /Death enriched by a crystal lead.
Abnormal
Intrusion unleashes a rabid Thrash attack that
changes into resounding walls of brutal, cadenced,
melodic Death. Screaming shores
delivers the same ingredients with more vicious psyched atmospheres and
an unpredictable imposing massive blasting motifs. Often
Yyrkoon reach the boundaries of blasting metal ,and Screaming
shores is one of these episodes. The Book is
punishing, a truly lava- death mosh-summoning attack, almost
monumental at the point of the stacco for the solo that will
introduce us a brilliant melodic loop. Horror
from the Sea, featuring the guest appearance of guitarist Andy
LaRocque, is implacable, psychotic and constantly pulsing, divided
in thunderous unrestrained hammering rhythmic session and a
higher background of lethal turbulences; in the middle we
find the main motif ("just here to conquer human race - just here
to serve thy ancient gods") and the abrasive vocals that
slightly move go in direction American Heaviness and
Hardcore, and of course the intense solo. Heard many times, in a
repetition cycle, this song leaves an intense sense of concrete
subjugation and abstract madness.
A
compelling strong acoustic minute divides the Lair
... from the burst of ...of Madness
. ...of Madness has some rhythmic
proceeding from old Agathodaimon, together with a general old
school Thrash/ Black tint, mixed with Modern and Melodic Death; of
course a melodic solo is not missed . It is incredible how Yyrkoon
mix this way different styles and maintain a perfect faithful, logical ,
well conceived structure of the song. Injecting
Dementia is a thunderous thrash /death ride with such a
sick echo in the title, even too pessimist in its final
resolution. The boiling , erupting opera has become a
conclusive corrosive , brutal, neck braking waste.
Yyrkoon
still must find the ultimate "wow" effect and the
ultimate addicting ingredient, but they are very near. What then, if
they succeed? Already showing such a metal possession, what
can Yyrkoon become in future? An unhealthy messiah?
rating:
9/10
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