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Uncanny > Splenium for Nyktophobia > Reviews
Uncanny - Splenium for Nyktophobia

Generic with a hint of bizarre - 85%

we hope you die, August 27th, 2020

The signature Swedish style was defined by combining d-beat punk with NWOBHM melodic sensibilities, and from this solid foundation building grand sweeping pieces of epic metal. Once rendered through the iconic buzzsaw guitar tone, it was a distinctive and instantly recognisable musical statement that became one of the pillars of extreme metal. But as demonstrated by the trajectory of its household names, innovation was not forthcoming. One could either devolve into rock music as Entombed opted to do, or release the same album over and over again as was the chosen path of Unleashed and Dismember. Later, this legacy was also further tarnished by the close associations to poppy melodic death metal championed by At the Gates’ ‘Slaughter of the Soul’, In Flames, and of course Michael Amott’s post Carnage career. But in this narrow field there were albums that either exemplified the style or pointed a way forward.

One hit wonders Uncanny – on their sole full length ‘Splenium for Nyktophobia’ (1994) – bridged the gap between Entombed’s dark primitivism and early At the Gates’ sophisticated understanding of melodic death metal. In many ways this album almost feels like the follow up to the ‘With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness’ that should have been. Simpler than the divisive At the Gates offering, but rooted in a similar prog minded approach to melodic death metal. Production wise the mix is fairly off the shelf for this era. The focus seems to be on keeping all instruments clear and visible within the mix before any overt stylistic choices. But this fits with the overall thrust of this album, which is one of melodic riff-based death metal with a pronounced ability to create dark, romantic atmospheres, bolstered by keyboards if the need arises. The guitar tone may be a little thin, but this allows us a small window into the bass guitar’s comings and goings as it rumbles its way beneath the intricate dance of the lead guitars. Vocals are also fairly standard for Swedish death metal of this time, sticking to a low-end bark of sorts, sacrificing duration of notes for raw power.

Uncanny’s grasp of melody may not be as progressive or off the wall as the first handful of At the Gates albums, but they show a determination to exhibit what abilities they do have, and on the whole it is consistently well executed on this album, and remains one of its chief appeals. They are in turn carried along by more basic d-beat passages that dominate the first half of this album. But these gradually grow more sporadic and give way to the romantic grandeur as ‘Splenium for Nyktophobia’ unfolds as a dark, majestic journey, supplementing the three-dimensional riffcraft of At the Gates for Necrophobic’s nocturnal atmospheres.

Pleasing as all this is, the main frustration with this album is the lack of longform development. All the tracks are kept relatively short, which in itself is no detriment; hard hitting numbers packed with ideas are always preferable to sparse, laboured soundscapes of artistry long absent. But the passionate and sophisticated web of narratives Uncanny are spinning here would really have benefited from an epic in the style ‘Dismembered’ or ‘Primal Breath’. It doesn’t need to be an overly drawn out affair, ‘The Nocturnal Silence’ for instance walks the line between brevity and epic flawlessly. But Uncanny keep the pace and mood pretty relentless throughout, which makes for a pleasing if limited experience when compared to the classics referenced above.

But it be would remiss to discuss this album without mentioning some off the wall choices that creep in towards the end. Having already displayed their willingness to use synthesisers in a lead capacity and not just a supporting role earlier in the album (a rarity in straight-edged death metal of the time), we get the Godflesh-esque number ‘Lepra’ towards the end which in its own right sounds awesome, but completely breaks the flow. Death metal convention dictates a low key, dungeon synth style instrumental to guide the listener into a finale at this stage of the album. But one has to admire Uncanny’s decision to tear this directive up by shoving in a crushing industrial number in its place instead. The dungeon synth is saved for the concluding title track, which is glorious in all its cheap video game aesthetics, neo-classical hooks, and pan flutes, and totally redeems whatever shortcomings to ‘Splenium for Nyktophobia’ I was babbling about two minutes ago. Crack on.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Reet Canny. - 87%

Acrobat, February 9th, 2014

There are approximately 25,000 ‘unsung classics’ in death metal from the 1990s. So, you can imagine my surprise that Uncanny’s Splenium for Nyktophobia is actually a rather unique and excellent slab of Swedish death metal. The band’s sound is confident; typical of Swedish death metal but never too typical. It’s really a breath of fetid air to hear a band experiment within the established style of a genre and pull it off with aplomb.

Make no mistake about it; Uncanny are definitely Swedish, the national traits of the old Swedish scene are all here. There’s a heavy punk influence here (stronger than most, as made evident by the old hardcore cover here) but also it’s also very melodic. If the typical Swedish death metal band is somewhat punky and quite happy to use consonant melodies, then, Uncanny are sometimes very punky and often really melodic. This album is like a glorious celebration of everything that the old Swedish scene had; the (ever)flowing melodies, the d-beats and that world-beating guitar sound all mixed together in one big melting pot. But what’s more is that they use these familiar ingredients to make something unique. The lion’s share of the praise here should go to Fredrik Norrman – whose handiwork can also be hear on the classic October Tide record, Rain Without End – as he really is an excellent guitarist. Alongside the masterful David Parland and the otherworldly Alf the Gates, he’s probably the most melodically distinctive guitarist in the Swedish scene. Everything he does is just so perfectly appropriate for the style; measured and yet still energetic. He knows when to use those austere brutish, hardcore-inspired riffs and when to really cut loose with a melodic lead. And best of all he’s never really content to coast by on the Boss HM guitar sound, either! Indeed, because of his sterling performance you’d never confuse Uncanny with one of the also-rans of the scene (who would perhaps sound like a cross between Entombed and Dismember and be called Distombmembered).

Song-wise they’re a rather twisty and turny bunch. They aren’t simply content with bashing you on the head with riffs, although, at the same time they do like bashing you on the head with riffs. Certainly, Uncanny are a bit more complex than your regular Swedeath band but they don’t venture into early At the Gates/Liers in Wait weirdness. Again, it’s Norrman’s riffing that really stands out. He tends to leap around the fretboard quite a lot with lots of cool jumps in his riffs that don’t sound quite like any other death metal guitarist I’ve heard. Lyrically, too, the songs have a narrative quality to them which seems a little different to the abstract body parts ‘n’ blasphemy approach which is more commonly used in death metal.

I suppose what’s interesting for me is that Uncanny are a unique band in many respects, but they don’t need to make a song and dance about this fact. They occupy a fruitful middle ground between the more meat ‘n’ potatoes Swedeath bands (Grave, for a stark example) and the more progressive, off-the-wall types, like the previously mentioned ATG and Liars in Wait. They’re not afraid to experiment but they’re also not obsessed by it like some death metal bands are (in that “Oh, but we’re so much more than a regular death metal band!” sense). Take ‘Timeless’ for a fine example; it’s a weird, riff-driven instrumental with lots of keyboards and interesting guitar textures… and yet, at the same time, it’s still definitely Swedish death metal. Sometimes, it doesn’t work as the Godflesh-esque industrial metal track clearly shows. But then again, it’s probably better than Godflesh themselves. Overall, it seems to me that Uncanny have struck a perfect balance between experimentation and more conventional Swedeath sounds.

So, in conclusion, I would recommend this album to people who think Left Hand Path and Into the Grave are “too simplistic”. On the other hand, however, those people are dumb and don’t deserve legitimately great death metal.

Not really an "essential" album - 68%

true_death, January 20th, 2014

Uncanny's "Splenium For Nyktophobia" is a pretty good death metal CD, but it would be an overstatement to say this is a "brilliant" album, or even a relatively memorable one. If you're like me, and you can't get enough of "old school" death metal, this album is certainly a worthy addition to the collection, but if you are looking for something that, at the end of the day, will feel like a "lost gem", you are probably in the wrong place.

The closest point of reference for Uncanny's music would be Desultory, whose music, quite frankly, is more prolific for a reason! Like Desultory, these guys have managed to avoid most of the cliches of the Swedish death metal scene, with some occasional curveballs thrown in for good measure (some quasi-technical riffs appear here and there throughout the album)...but the songwriting is simply not there. A lot of this stuff sounds very confusing...and while some bands, like Seance, can use that as an asset, it makes me think that Uncanny are really not all that special of a band in the first place. While the band is talented and the riffs are there (the vocals are also very good)...there is no moment of this album that feels very definitive or like it stands above the other songs. While there is nothing bad about it...in fact, it's all fairly good...it just doesn't come across as powerful enough to become a "death metal classic" as it were.

So there's the "normal" material on this album. Then, you get to the experimental shit. There are two random, seemingly out of place death-punk tunes on this album (one of which is a cover - can't remember which, though), both with Swedish lyrics. Both of them are pretty stupid. I hate punk music, and while I respect these guys for paying tribute to their influences...it just sucks. Then, you get the closer...which is one of those annoying "outro" tracks which is in a totally different style from the rest of the CD. Those can be done right (Brutality and Morbid Angel) but this one is literally so stupid and cheesy that listening to it will make you laugh hysterically. Then...you get to the worst song on the entire disc..."Lepra". I have no idea what the fuck this was supposed to be. It sounds like the blueprint for Morbid Angel's "Illud Divinum Insanus"!! Just an awful piece of industrial-death garbage that is damn-near laughable! A drum machine was used...pitch-shifted vocals...any dedicated death metal listener will reach for the skip button as soon as this shit appears...

All in all, this is an interesting album, but not one that is even remotely essential. It's just "another old school death" album...as a hardened fan of this style, I rarely ever find myself pulling this one out of the CD shelf. It's just "there"...I'd suggest you pass on this one, but what do I know, eh?

Melodic Swedeath - 85%

__Ziltoid__, March 30th, 2011

Uncanny play some Swedeath with a nice melodic touch. However, this melodic touch doesn’t mean that they eschew the heaviness and brutality of death metal! No, on the contrary, Uncanny melds the melodic side of their sound very nicely with the more straight-up death metal sound. Just check out the opener, ‘Elohim,’ for evidence of this. This is death metal that crushes, grooves, and soothes all at the same time, and in that sense, this album has always impressed me.

Of course, the riffs here range from tremolo-picked glory to groovy catchiness as should be expected from Swedeath. ‘Tales from the Tomb’ is a great example of a song on this album with some killer riffs. However, this is not an album that will crush you with riffs or anything. Instead, this album is more focused on intertwining lead guitar melodies into their music, which while certainly nice, does mean that the riffs do have to take a back seat at some point. Luckily for us, the lead work here is pretty damn tasteful if I do say so myself. If melodic death metal primarily stayed like this instead of morphing into the chugging failure that most melodeath is, it would have been a fine genre, because some of this music can simply be described as beautiful. Listen to the solos on ‘Timeless’ for example. They’re not only tasteful, but incredibly emotive as well, which is quite the rarity in death metal.

The production here is pretty good. Everything is certainly clear, especially the bass, which is quite fun to listen to in some of the more groove-oriented sections of the album. However, the guitars aren’t the strongest I’ve heard from Swedeath, nor are they the most menacing. Still, they pack a strong punch, even behind the melodic leads. This is unmistakeably a Swedish album, which is what is most important. I do happen to enjoy the rather organic sounding drums, which is always something I look for in music.

One other thing of note is that this is an oddly structured album. At 13 songs, this already seems like an anomaly for a death metal album, but the songs are also all really short as well, with most running around the 2:30-3:00 mark. Sure, I love some short death metal songs, but I would love to hear a few of these expanded on a bit more. Still, I guess concision is better than drawn out wankery, so I’ll commend Uncanny for that. The album ends up being 38 minutes long, which is around average for a death metal album, so it’s not a problem at all. I just find the amount of songs to be a bit unusual and worth pointing out.

Overall, Splenium for Nyktophobia is yet another great Swedeath album. This is a prime example of how to integrate melodic leads with death metal and succeed in the most tasteful of manners. With this new compilation out there, there’s absolutely no reason not to give this a shot if you already like Swedeath anyway. The compilation has it all, and doesn’t fuck with a good thing by remastering/destroying the original music.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

Above expectations - 98%

shantanupatni1991, February 6th, 2009

Anyone with even a drop of old school death metal in his blood should get this immediately. It’s Swedish, and it was released in ‘94, that is more than enough to assure the greatness and perfection of a death metal album. The compositions here are simply superb, consistently flowing with teeth grinding riffs to go with the achingly matured and polished drumming. Unlike other flat footed death metal recordings, each song here features something new to offer.

The production too, favours the low end nature of this album by not letting the bass take a back seat. It is just immaculate in every department just like the material.

The drums can sound frantic as well as complex & atmospheric as per requirement. Painted with a subtle yet vicious shade of evilness, there are no unwanted rolls/fills or unnecessary speed added here, everything sounds spontaneous, scintillating, and at the end, stellar!

Coming to the solos part; yes, there is vibrant use of lead guitars and each song has a memorable melody. What makes these solos sound even better is the slight but noticeable variation in guitar tone. It is distinct & unique not only from other bands in the same league, but even the metal genre in general.

Little known Swedish gem... - 90%

orodoven, April 1st, 2005

Sweden's Uncanny was a little known death metal band that hatched one record in it's carreer, and what a grand and underrated album it was. This is pure Swedish death metal circa 1993 with buzzing guitars and nice growels (Jens T™rnoos' voice is perfect). The songs are killer ( "Brain Access" is the best one in my opinion), mixing fast and medium pace, but atmospheric with a tinge of melody ( the instrumental track "Timeless" is a good example). Dan Swan™'s production is really good , clear but with a dirty edge. Perhaps the one downside of this release is it's lack of originality, but who cares, this rules. Had this come out a couple of years earlier and on a better label (Unisound was an utter crap label), this release would have had a bigger impact. All in all excellent stuff that any fan of Swedish death metal should checkout and death metal fans in general too.