Unhealthy Opera

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.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

If you are currently hailing France for their recent metal output, don’t let me interrupt you. I would hate to throw someone off in mid-hail.

That aside, if you’ve heard of semi-defunct frogs Yyrkoon it was probably because of “Occult medicine,” an album that certainly stirred up the metal masses back in 2004. “OC” was a modern take on death-thrash, with a HEAVY fucking production job that made the drums, guitars, and vocals seem to weigh several tons apiece. There were blazing thrash riffs, soaring solos, interesting drum patterns, and vocals that ranged from a bowel-shaking low to a scratchy high. Throw in an instrumental track, a few half-attempts at clean vocals, and mispronounced Lovecraftian lyrics with grammar difficulties. The result was damn good, and “Schizophrenic carnage” still slimes its way into my ear canal on a regular basis.

“Unhealthy opera” is a continuation of where they left off two years prior, minus a bit of the experimentation and freshness that made “OC” so popular. The production is still like being under a bed where Roseanne Barr and John Goodman are banging. The solos still fly like an eagle over the ass-kicking double bass insanity. And the growls are still low and semi-comprehensible, like, uh….like a crazy person whispering to themselves? Whatever.

Just because Yyrkoon put their heads down and go straight into assault mode doesn’t make the disc any less entertaining, however, it’s just that you’ll pick a few favorite tracks that epitomize their style and stick with those. The songs don’t flow together (for the most part) to create a beautiful tapestry of unicorns impaling hunting dogs in fields of aether. You won’t hear a whole new song with each new listen, though there is a somewhat oppressive and creepy atmosphere throughout. You’ll just hear Yyrkoon trying to boot you in the butthole.

And boot they do. After a spooky little intro called “Something breathes” (thanks to small permeation's in the spandex), one track after the next sallies forth to decimate the listener. “From the depths” is tremendous, “Screaming shores” is a neckbreaker, there’s a great scream-along chorus in “Horror from the sea” (with a solo from the King Diamond dude that rules), the combination of the soothing acoustic interlude “Lair…” and the punishing “…of Madness” is rad, and “Injecting dementia” makes one last run for Alsace-Lorraine before things close out. There’s a bonus track on here called “Signs” that has some nasally clean vocals in it, which I always skip.

I was nervous that they’d go in a more proggy direction given some of the tracks at the end of “OC,” but it appears they went on a barahutahl vector instead with this album. Probably why it wasn’t so well-recognized, but if you like your death with (un)healthy doses of Cthulhu and thrash this would be a great addition to your collection. Seems like the dudes lacked motivation to continue Yyr’ing, however, so you probably won’t hear any more from ‘em. A pity.

And check out their website – pretty cool for poorly motivated individuals. Now back to your hailing.

7.5 French-fried octopi out of 10

Originally posted at www.globaldomination.se

A truly amazing album, a masterpiece of death and thrash metal from a quite unknown band. This is, French death metal at its very best with the album showing various characteristics that make it so great. In addition to all this its lyrics are imaginative and well put together.


The album starts out with an offbeat, powerful, somewhat evil intro named “Something Breathes”. This 20 second track really gives the impression straight away that the album that follows will be fast, loud and unforgettable. The song starts with a single jumpy note and continues with faint whispering in the background with buzzing electrical noises played over the top. The song then ends with the noises growing louder and cutting into the next song. This is the best way any band can ever portray the beginning of an album.


The song that follows, Unhealthy Opera, is probably my favourite song on the whole album. It proves the band has a definite talent. Firstly, the drumming is fast and relentless and the guitar work which soars high above the immaculate double bass drumming, is amazing. The riff which is played throughout the song is apocalyptic and has a creepy sound to it. The vocals are also intense, Stéphane Souteryrand doesn’t only death growl with skill but he has an ability to range his growling from low, very guttural style to a higher pitched sound, which gives certain parts of the song an edge. Half way through the song the guitarist breaks out into this screechy, fast-paced, evil solo which is one of the high points of the song. The chorus itself is unbelievable, if anyone can scream “UNHEEALTHY MESSIAAH” and make it sound scary, its Stéphane.


“From The Depths” the song that comes next proves that the album is still great. It again starts with a riff that’ll blow your mind and yet be so simple at the same time. The guitars and the drumming also go together perfectly and when the guitars slow down to a steady pace, the drums will then speed up with amazing result. But if you want to hear a better version of this song, check out the live version on Youtube, it sounds much better! Track 4 is also a very good song, with all the best that Yyrkoon have to offer…


Track 5 is an instrumental song. Whether you like this song or not will depend on your opinion on instrumentals. If you like instrumentals you will find this song interesting and you will enjoy the contrast between it and the fast songs which it follows, but if you hate instrumentals, you will find this a tedious waste of time, but don’t let this ruin you buying the album, as the rest of it doesn’t disappoint!


Tracks 6-8 are probably the low point of the album, but they are still very enjoyable to listen to.


Track 9 definitely deserves a mention, for nothing but the epic solo in the middle played by special guest guitarist Andy Larocque from King Diamond. This is probably one of the best solos I have ever heard, I could listen to it all day! Its has slow and fast moments in the solo which make it so special and worth listening to more than once in a day.


The tracks that come after, Lair… and …Of Madness both work together perfectly as a two-part song. Lair… being a slow acoustic song building up to …Of Madness, which is killer song with brutal aspects of all instruments played in the song.


Injecting Dementia is a classic example of pure scary Yyrkoon wickedness. It starts out with a spooky synthesizer playing droning notes. It then continues with a slow paced, almost march-like guitar riff. It then has Stéphane growling in low pitch which sets the overall atmosphere of the song perfectly.