lycanthia-oligarchy-reviews

Review from Disfactory Webzine

Wed, 13 Aug 2014 08:32:44 +0100

From: Disfactory Webzine

Published: August 1, 2014

*Google translation of Italian review

Every now and then from Australia comes out some reality Gothic Metal able to emerge from mediocrity, but in this case you have to say and point out how the Lycanthia are not exactly the newcomer, the first demo in fact dates back to 1997, while the onset through full-length came just two years later (enough already these few details to figure out what we're going to be faced today). But after Myriad now is the "silent" for years and years (interrupted only by an EP in 2006) until reaching the current Oligarchy , first as self-production (in 2012), then finally backed worthily from Hypnotic Dirge Records , the label certainly could not let him perish in brackish water too long, so, once again, the operation "look around" is back in all functional.

I Lycanthia Gothic Doom sound old-fashioned, clearly inspired by the first chapter Tristania (do not even need to mention it) we pack a disc from the romantic flavor and deep, matter that every fan of the genre will absolutely not be missed. The name Megan Tassaker among the many things to say little, but I'm also sure that someone will remember the Avrigus and all the good stuff they have produced in their career (purchase even more obliged if you know the monicker in question).

The demonstration of devotion to a genre more and more into disuse is contained in the first The Essential Components of Misery , the most beautiful song on the album according to my taste, tongued voice of belonging "divine," he abrasive, her ethereal and dramatic , to tie things are pompous keyboards and piano parts are able to reconfirm all in a seductive imagery and slow motion (not to mention the end of the piece, where a gentle "rocking" drag until the last second). With forgone it falls even more in the field Widow's Weeds (that's there, I could not resist, I've mentioned), the violins stand out and open roads in all their prickly beauty, the remainder of the paste on him with safety and the commitment not go lost (the "caw" masculine here offers his personal quote).

's power Oligarchy is to demonstrate again that "hunger" typical of a band in the early stages, you immediately feel a certain roughness, the do not want to compromise in some way to make themselves more attractive. Everything is gorgeous and complacent, but underneath there is always a "negative cash flow" as authentic and the primary force, be gloomy, melancholy and damned, this is what most of all press them, and what you hear out several times along the duration of each song. To make it even darker the result we think a production "nebula" and arcane, able to emphasize first of the two voices, then, the union and the combination of these with the rest of the instruments (in particular I really like the sound of guitars, to hover there anyway that of a "confusing", this thing will be able to ward off allergic to imperfections).

Ablaze the Wheel Turns buy points thanks to its crescendo punctuated rhythm while Despondency in Crescendo before, and Time Feeds These Wounds then, think to reject the mood rhythms of liturgical / tragic and "devoid of any sense of time" (the latter is so much " painful "as superbly interpreted.) Hair of the Beast puts violins there, patients in various plots, and it does not take long to realize how much class to be equipped with these fluctuating insertions, From Ancestral Lands instead held for closing some of the best vocals of the disc (the " now i wonder, and i wander "remains stationary them to resonate in my head for a long time).

Oligarchy is not a good way to come back after all these years, is a great way to do this, some small break (or rather lost, but nothing highly disturbing) prevents me from just-for, very poco- to increase the rating of those levels that many times the music touches, but if they continue to work in this way, problems-in future- there will not be at all. Avercene discs like this in every case.

Reviewed by: Duke "Selfish" Fog

Rating: 70/100

Review from Deaf Sparrow Webzine

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 23:06:46 +0100

From: Deaf Sparrow Webzine

Published: April 24, 2014

Original Link

Sometimes we kind of have this “thing” for Gothic metal, especially of the black variety, or perhaps with a touch of “the doom” for extra thickness. When properly combined these things create a tragic beast. It’s the kind of thing denied by God as something which may exist, the kind of thing that gets you into trouble more often than not. When you have such a thing in your possession, it can skew the way you view the world, it can turn everything, in this case, to a black dress and cover it in eyeliner, forgetting it’s God damned 80+ degrees out. We’ll take that heat reference to be a metaphorical consideration of how people normally tend to view you if you admit your thing is “the Gothic,” or if you dress the part. We definitely don’t dress the part around here, not usually, but it’s something we occasionally admit to enjoying if we’re feeling melancholic. That means we are at the moment totally engaged in finding sadness in everything. Lycanthia is one Hell of a seasoned band, with a career stretching almost two decades. Typically, this isn’t the of music you expect to be coming out of Australia, somewhere it’s warmer and there’s nothing really to mourn over other than sharks and salt-water crocodiles. Luckily, we do not need to add to that list of complaints this album. Overall, some great Gothic metal here.

Oligarchy is Gothic metal on its way to being perfect Gothic metal, it’s just not there entirely. Yeah, we know, these guys have been around, but we’re referring to this particular release. The artwork deserves mention as it’s pretty clever, or at least we think so, combining at once symbolic imagery of female genitalia while making from it a hooded menace in darkness. That may, however, be simply how our depraved minds are viewing what is intended to be something else. This is what happens when we don’t have friends. Anyway, what’s unusual about this one is, honestly, it sounds like it’s going to suck hard for a short duration with no resolution. There’s an atmosphere to it, at first, which seems superficial, but this is quickly destroyed within a brief minute or two. Lycanthia has an incredible, neigh an awesome grasp of their instruments and their ability to write. This album is filled, bursting, exploding, dying from the amount of riffage to be found. Strangely, it seems to take a few minutes to really feel it, it’s not something immediate, but by the end it’s catching like a melancholic disease.

So, yeah, great stuff here, speaking largely musically, however. The main vocalists, Megan Robins and Vanessa Black, have excellent, we repeat, excellent delivery. Whichever one is at the head, we’re not entirely sure since there are two of them, has carry with a wide range and vibrancy absolutely required for clean vocals. Also worth mention is the violin throughout; absolutely killer, dirge-like, turning your entire life into one big lament without a single flower. It pieces it all together nicely. It’s like what you expect out of the majority of Theatre des Vampires’ output but rarely find other than maybe “Lady in Black,” but unfortunately that one reeks of several fine cheeses at once. Lycanthia, however, have their poetic sound down, there’s just one thing, and that’s the screaming. Lee Tassaker, the male vocalist, helps to unfortunately bring some of it down. Now, trust us, there’s absolutely nothing wrong at all with harsh vocals over this kind of music, it can add a nice touch. But here, it’s way too much touch, it’s so much touch you’re ready to file for harassment. Tassaker has very little, if any, alteration in his harshness. It all sounds the same, it could even be the same, and the “very little” part we’re simply giving as a benefit of doubt, because really we can’t remember a second where he does anything different. With clean vocals, that’s possible, but for harshness, which sometimes covers the beauty of Oligarchy, it needs variety to keep it stable. He’s good at what he does, sure, he just does too much of it in this release with too much redundancy. Still, as far as we’ve seen with Gothic metal, this is still a fine one to check out.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by: StanStepanic

Review from Pitchline Webzine

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:46:57 +0100

From: Pitchline Zine

Published: March 31, 2014

Original Link

*Google translation of Spanish review

Although the band was formed in 1996, what concerns us here is only the second full-length of this sextet from Sydney after posting earlier, in 1999, their first album, "Myriad", plus an ep called "Within the walls "he made a bridge between the two. Lycanthia proposes What is a Gothic-Doom-Metal adhering strictly to employers that this style has created over the years. The group complies with all the features demanded by the genre from the aesthetics and poetry until, of course, the music itself. It is not difficult to see, since the beginning of the work, some of the influences that mark its destination, like the distinctive sound created by My Dying Bride from his early works, recognizable, inter alia, by the prominent use of violins; Also, some of the female vocal registers remind us those unique ringtones Anneke Van Giersbergen gave us masterpieces like "Mandylion". The combination of these angelic female voices to male voices is brutal, as expected, one of the hallmarks of this "Oligarchy" along with the heavier foray into the style of his contemporaries Draconian places. Obviously entered and in 2014, we can not say that what is offered Lycanthia original bet in extreme music. This sub-genre exploded with incredible force and with an overwhelming flood of ideas and melodies in the early nineties and has since experienced a boom that led, as happens with all musical phenomena implode thus to saturation of a sound that was exploited to the full. This is, in my view, the biggest drag that pulls the work of Australians. I believe that addressing a style so visited and plundered as this requires to be done from a perspective that can bring something new and unique to it and think Lycanthia were unable or unwilling to do so, sticking to create a generic disk freckle be a little brave. For certainly old ear, like mine, certain formulas, as mentioned contrast between beauty and brutality reflected in the voices, which are subject to wear in unforgiving time to show, unless they are able to give a twist his own essence, but keeping changing their appearance. For example, I miss more melodic variety that makes the music is not lost in an ocean too much like himself, or worse, too much like others. This sameness, issues are finally cornered in a narrow melodic fence that can reach plunge them into indifference. That said, over the almost fifty-five minutes long the album we can enjoy moments of great inspiration to rise above the plain that prevails in many other times and pointing to the way that can make Lycanthia a group that escape correction towards greater excellence and originality. So I think we are facing a disk contented to hardcore fans of the Gothic-Doom Metal-orthodox, but you can leave a little cold to seek certain progression or regeneration thereof.

Rating: 6.5/10

Reviewed by: Jaime Fernandez

Review from Volumes of Sin Webzine

Sat, 08 Mar 2014 11:12:22 +0100

From: Volumes of Sin Webzine

Published: March 7, 2014

Original Link

Although they only have two full-length releases, one demo and an EP, Lycanthia have been around since 1996 and are among the last long-standing metal bands of their kind in Australia. The group are made up of six members; a bassist/vocalist, a violinist/vocalist, a keyboardist/vocalist, a drummer and two guitarists. During their time, Lycanthia have seen numerous additions and subtractions in their line-up, making it almost impossible to keep a straight 'who's who' tab on them. However at this point their original bassist and male vocalist, Lee Tassaker, remains among the newcomers and late entrants into the group's roster; as well, recently original drummer Lachlan Donaldson has rejoined the ranks, although he did not contribute to their second full-length album, Oligarchy.

The word "oligarchy" is defined as a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominate class or clique, a state or organization so ruled and the persons or class so ruling. This definition is definitive of the lyrics found on the album, which are rich and compelling. Lyrically, the track that stands out the most is "The Essential Components of Misery", which is a hard hitting eye opener that delves into the technologically advanced state of the current world, how our existence is being reshaped due to this and how blind the masses are to the potential threat of our humanity being stripped away. This is just the beginning in a series of breathtaking lyrics that come straight from the hearts of the musicians at hand.

It's incredibly refreshing, a relief actually, to hear a real violin at work. Vanessa Black showcases her proficiency with her violin in an elegant manner across all tracks of the album and even steals the spotlight during the instrumental song "Eternity..." with a heartfelt cascade of notes that dance along a light acoustic guitar. In the bigger picture, the violin enriches the dramatic, destitute, gothic mood of the material during imperative structural moments. Alongside her is keyboardist Megan Tassaker, whose subtle pianos and synths work mostly behind the scenes to create a cold, dynamic atmosphere in each track; however, at times her keyboards could use a slight audio boost on the mix as they tend to get lost within the guitars and drums. Both of these ladies also serve as vocalists on the album, alongside Megan's husband Lee.

Lee's deep vocals are done entirely in death metal styled growls, while both Vanessa and Megan blend their clean vocals together into dual melodious harmonies. Generally it's either one or both girls singing, or Lee, but sometimes the triad sing together. When this vocal structure takes place the harsh growls take a backseat and sing alternate lyrics while the ladies' vocal tracks are up at the front of the mix, singing the same words in unison, such as in "The Essential Components of Misery" and "Ablaze the Wheel Turns"; this feature gives a great contrast between the two styles, as well as it provides a new spectrum of depth into the audio. To negate some of the predictability that this can bring, Lycanthia switch up the composure roles in "Hair of the Beast" and "From Ancestral Lands", where Lee's vocals are the main focus instead. All three vocalists get their fair share of airtime and the album isn't left feeling one sided due to one set of vocals being utilized more than the other.

In terms of innovation or creativity, the drums don't provide an incredibly memorable experience in their performance; however, their presence is strong and they carry a large portion of Oligarchy through both composition and how high up they sit on the mix. Quite often the drums take away from the guitars, which is problematic due to their simplistic and sometimes repetitive nature. Although they can carry their weight through heavier songs like "Time Feeds This Wound" and "Hair of the Beast", which are the most doom inspired tracks on the album, they only do so due to amplified double bass kicks. This is the only real area that needs improvement overall.

Both guitars have a decent distortion to them, while the rhythm guitar is laden with fuzz and gain the lead guitar takes on a slightly more clean tone while still retaining some grit. Acoustics also snake their way into various tracks which brings out the group's folk influence every now and then. Another unique mystery to the content are the occasional bouts of heavy reverb and clean distortion that one of the guitarists takes on, this is a long lost trait in modern metal and is well received in this material. The mix of discordant picking and gruff palm muted riffs cause as much of a contrast as the vocals, providing another element of depth in the material. Rarely, if ever, will the listener hear any of these combined elements playing simultaneously; generally one guitar or the other is playing along with the drums, being backed by either the violin or keyboards and at most three vocalists. This ensures that the audio is never subjected to obstructive clutter and allows the audience to pick up each sound individually, infusing them with a deep sense of appreciation for the performance of the musicians both as solo artists and as a band.

The overall compositions are typically light in nature throughout this album and the tempos only change slightly and tactfully; at no time are there any abrupt changes. As stated before, the heaviest songs on Oligarchy will be "Time Feeds This Wound" and "Hair of the Beast" which have a very defined sludge/doom metal sound to them. The rest of the tracks are very gothic and full of desolate atmosphere that will chill the listener to the very core. "The Essential Components of Misery" is easily the strongest song lyrically, and "Despondency in Crescendo" is the longest track, finishing at just over ten minutes, as well as the track that is the most structurally compelling. Lycanthia definitely have a diamond in the rough up their sleeve with Oligarchy and it's a must hear for any fans of the genres mentioned in this review.

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by: Villi Thorne

Review from Pure Nothing Worship Magazine

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 20:27:26 +0100

From: Pure Nothing Worship Magazine; Issue 2

Published: April 2014

Website Link

Since 1996, the Australian Lycanthia released a demo in ’96, debut album in ’99, an EP in ’06, and now, the second album in 2013. Showing an even better musicianship and a stronger approach since their last album “Myriad”, Lycanthia presents a fairly standard but still nice album of melodic doom / death metal , dominated by clean female vocals, somber riffs, and devastating violin melodies. Although not revolutionary, what we have here is a surprisingly nice album, with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and melody, and a profound and sad atmosphere. The female vocals are sometimes too much emphasized and at times leave the fantastic growl/scream vocals in the background, but this is not often the case. This is a good, humble and honest album for those who like this sort of doom metal, and a nice album to pass the time from time to time. Support!

Reviewed by: Aleksandr Nenad

Review from Forgotten Path Magazine; Issue 5

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 19:20:27 +0100

From: Forgotten Path Magazine; Issue 5

Published: November 2013

Original Link

Canadian record label “Hypnotic Dirge Records” keeps on sending us their production and trying to fit the frames of “Forgotten Path”. With a quick look over all their releases they pay most attention to second-rate BM projects and much more interesting Doom Metal genre bands, in my opinion. Although the majority of them lack creativity or some other traits to make momentary impressions of admiration, like during their time bands like Majestic Downfall, Mar de Grises and Mourners Lament managed to do. However I should mention that most of these Doom’ers presented by the Canadians are highly skilled. Lycanthia, one of many Australian bands, is no exception to them.

It’s no surprise that the band’s songs leave a good impression - the band musicians are past or present members of projects such as Stone Wings, Elysium, Bleakwood and Subterranean Disposition who have gathered much of their experience from the stage. On its second album the band offers a dose of Gothic/Doom Metal with female vocals. The latter, of course, is mixed with the male growl. Besides, the sounds of violins provide some kind of Folk spice. For that aspect the band reminds me of their country fellows Chalice, who used this instrument quite often. However Lycanthia’s music is not like any of the mentioned bands - to me they sound boring, lacking drive and aren’t exceptional. This applies to the album as well - everything looks good, but it leaves little impression. Maybe the mistake is the rhythmic structures, maybe some other things. All in all, the disc lacks dynamics, as paradoxical as it may sound if we are talking about Doom Metal...

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: Odium

Review from Metal as Fuck Webzine

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 16:49:59 +0100

From: Metal as Fuck Webzine

Published: September 18, 2013

Original Link

Doom metal has always been an interesting sub-genre in that once you move away from the more traditional offshoots of the genre and start looking at the less accessible variants of the sound, (such as death doom or funeral doom) you start to find only a few quality acts spread out through the underground all over the world. That's because there's never really been a centralized scene for that kind of metal, there's no Gothenburg or Bay Area for the gothic doom movement. Sure, Scandinavia will always be associated with the melodic and depressive sounds of some doom metal variants, but with such a sparsely populated yet widely spread and die-hard scene, truly world class doom can spring up from anywhere in the world. Lycanthia are just such an example of this.

Hailing from Sydney, Lycanthia's sound occupies a gloomy realm made up of the likes of Swallow the Sun, Katatonia, My Dying Bride, Opeth and Paradise Lost. Reading that, you should already have a pretty good idea of what they sound like. Sometimes harsh, heavy and crushing, sometimes dripping with sweet juicy melody like a ripened peach, but all the time concerned with portraying 50 shades of sorrow.

Oligarchy is the second full length album released by the band and what makes this album worth your time is simply the strong quality of song-writing at play here. Taking a solemn stroll through the bleak territories of death/doom and gothic tinged piano/female-vocals, the band evokes the exact atmosphere of despair necessary to enjoy such work. The melodic female vocals and piano are perfectly balanced with the harsh screams and the band really knows just how long to let a song last. At about 53 minutes long, the album is just the right length to let each song emotionally resonate and sink in, without wearing out their welcome.

Another strength of the album are the little nuances added to the instrumentation. Aside from the previously mentioned pianos that add a tender feel to the more mellow points of the album, there are also violins and string sections used to great effect. Just listen to the mournful strings weaved throughout the undergrowth of opener The Essential Components of Misery and let these masterful misers sweep you through the sweet waters of woe.

Make no mistake; Oligarchy is one of the best Australian releases to come out under the gothic/death/doom umbrella. Draw the curtains, pour a glass of red, light some black candles and enjoy.

Review from Metalwave Webzine

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 17:55:40 +0100

From: Metalwave.it

Published: August 30, 2013

Original Link

*Google translation of Italian review

The Australians Lycanthia from Sydney arrive at their second album Gothic Doom metal composition after a hiatus that lasted 14 years, and released by Hypnotic Dirge Records.

7 tracks The most interlude of Lycanthia show us a Gothic Doom Metal often shady, disinclined to be over the top, not particularly dynamic (rarely the trend or the feeling of a song vary noticeably), and also very smooth and quite devoid of the harshness that I prefer in this genre. You get a disk formally beautiful, characterized by having an excellent composition of the disc brackets, ranging from "forgone" to "Despondency ..." included. It is precisely here that the Lycanthia can enhance their songwriting thanks to the most dynamic and fresh ideas, like good restart in mid tempo of "forgone" and the violin solo final, along with the pleasant arrangements of "Ablaze the wheel turns "or touch the darkest of" Despondency ... ", all to form a disk pleasant and more easily recommended to fans of the genre.

Actually, however, there are some flaws that make this disc, as implied above, a little 'less successful and plagued by certain limitations. In fact, as mentioned before, despite the success of formal, it is difficult to indicate the peaks compositional details, or the net change between song and song, and often you have the feeling that on the whole the album does not dare much, which does not make the 'bad album, but not among the best of the year in this genre. A cd therefore not entirely perfect and even a bit 'cumbersome, but enjoyable and well done. Let's just hope for the next record does not serve other 14 years ...

Rating: 72/100

Review from Metal Roos Webzine

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 17:54:22 +0100

From: Metal Roos Webzine

Published: August 7, 2013

Original Link

Formed in Sydney in the late 90s, Lycanthia are a Gothic/Doom band and one of the jewels in the crown of a metal style that has been lacking of recent years to produce genuine heavy albums. But with the release of Oligarchy, this six piece featuring members Lee Tassaker (vocals/bass), Giovanni Gariano and Stephen Mikulic (guitars), Vanessa Black (vocals/violins), Megan Robins (keyboards/vocals) and Andrew Craig on drums, they have moulded together to release one of the best albums for this genre that I’ve heard for a very long time since the glory days of European heavyweights My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, and being around for the length of time they have they’ve fine-tuned themselves musically to bring us this brilliant example.

There first release “Myriad” gave listeners a feel of what was to come and the wait was definitely worth its while, with its great production and genuine feel Lycanthia have given us an album where you almost feel as if you’re a part of it. A brutal triple threat vocal choir with Tassaker’s guttural throat that gives the album that extra heavy feel and beautifully backed up by Black and Robins, you can’t help but feel this is the ultimate soundtrack to a bloody field battle waged with brutality in the 1600’s, adding the violin and keyboards to the already mystical ambience it just blends so well. The slow tempo drumming that is expected, and the doomy but almost orchestral clarity of the guitar work is an honour to listen to and it really sucks you in to what the band aiming for. Lyrically they remind us of the darkness and doom that lives in all of us, and the tragedy of loss, death and all things gothic and morbid, hey what would you expect from an album featuring songs titled “The Essential Components of Misery” and “Time Feeds This Wound” among others.

Released on Green Media (MGM) here in Australia and re-released on Hypnotic Dirge Records in the US Lycanthia have recorded an album that matches anything released in this genre that I’ve heard, and with a heavy touring schedule I’m sure there already solid fan base will grow quickly and spread through the dark woods and battle fields of places not fit for man. Let’s hope for their sake and the sake of Gothic/Doom bands around Australia this album is heard far and wide as it deserves the accolades given to it and they should have their rightful place on the big stages along with the the very best in the world.

Rating: 5/5

Reviewed by: Hayden G.M.

Review from Pest Webzine

Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:29:48 +0100

From: Pest Webzine

Published: May 2013 (Posted late)

Original Link

We're already used with Hypnotic Dirge offering us quality stuff, isn't it? Well Lycanthia isn't any exception from the rule, but they are walking different paths than previously shown by HDR. Although still melancholic like the rest Lycanthia's music is a combination of Gothic, Doom and Death Metal with beauty and the best type of vocals, keyboards and violin all over the place. These guys are around since 1996 and it seems they are one of the oldest Doom Metal bands in Australia displaying a definite maturity on this second full-length album. The female vocals are awesome, there are two female vocalists (taking care of keyboards and violin too), I don't know who's the main one but she has such an enchanting voice I'd listen to this band's music only to let myself carried away by her trills. The arrangements are well thought and the violin as the main and upfront instrument plays a huge role in shaping the melancholic atmospheres that reminded me of Sins Of Thy Beloved and a bit of Theatre Of Tragedy. Of course this wouldn't have had that impact without the heavy, oppressive, doomy structures built by the rest of the instrumentalists and the rough, desperate vocals of Lee Tassaker, the male vocalist of Lycanthia. The production is top notch, mastering being taken care of by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Soilwork, Amon Amarth), so there's no reason why I wouldn't recommend this for fans of My Dying Bride, Sins Of thy Beloved, Theatre Of Tragedy, Draconian or Tristania. Very good record.

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by: Adrian