Review of Lantlôs - Self Titled

Much to the chagrin of black metal purists wriggling evilly within caves everywhere, Lantlos represents yet another young project pushing the genre further towards more progressive pastures. However, fret not, ye ghoulish guerilla's of grimness, while young Herbst (the brains behind this project) doesn't exactly appear likely to don panda-paint and brandish a nail pierced Louisville Slugger 'neath a full-mooned night, he still brings home the bacon in terms of delivering black metal that's at times cutting, fast and touched with a wee bit of ill-temper. That essentially means the heart of this inaugural voyage is built on a sturdy foundation of really solid, nimbly played drums often delivered quite viciously, and plenty of jangly, quick-riffed guitar work as well.

Conversely, the progressive side of the Lantlos coin finds the project dipping fairly extensively within a sorta melancholy indie/shoegaze pool, but without ever traipsing too far into wanker/crybaby territory. Basically, you've got five equally strong, long tunes that oftentimes blister quite angrily, but also bend seamlessly into measures of atmospheric melancholy delivered through heavy use of slow-strummed minor chords, lighter acoustic strumming and well-placed spoken word. It gives the whole of the record a modern black metal feel that would likely be a perfect companion to a gray, dismal walk in the afternoon through a sprawling, urban city: frequently gritty, precarious and dismal, but strangely pretty at the same time.

There's really not much worth mentioning in terms of weak points here. The raspy/shouted vocals are a tad one dimensional, but they're hardly anything I'd consider to be an Achilles heel. In the end, Lantlos stands as yet another shining example of how to blend modern elements into black metal without fully losing site of the genre's fundamental blueprints. I'd say if you count yourself a fan of the more progressive wave of black metal (that actually seems to be flowing from Germany lately), you should find plenty to enjoy with Lantlos. Quite solid and thoroughly enjoyable.

Release Details

Lantlôs

Self Titled

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