Thrawsunblat - Metachthonia
Broken Limbs Recordings
Melodic/Folk/Black Metal
6 songs (59'48'')
Release year: 2016
Thrawsunblat, Broken Limbs Recordings
Reviewed by Jared
Album of the month

After the death of David Gold, which inevitably broke up the Ontario Canada based band Woods of Ypres, the surviving final members of the band moved on to join together with a new band, Thrawsunblat. Having already released two albums, Metachthonia is the latest from the group. Thrawsunblat isn’t a band that will take you down a sluggish, doomy path like Woods of Ypres did; rather it is an aggressively energetic melodic black and folk metal project that may be the most fun I’ve had with an album so far this year.

The opening track, Fires That Light The Earth, is a lengthy one, as are all the tracks presented in this hour long ride. The start of the track begins symphonically and draped in melancholy. It only takes a short time for the ferocious blast beating and aggressive melodic riffing to stir things up into a folk rage. The music can be belligerent and in your face, but when the clean vocals come rolling in to give it that catchy folk edge, it just all comes together to create a grand sound. She Who Names The Stars is a more medium tempo track, still with plenty of hostility, but does stop at moments to bring out the symphonic side of the band gorgeously. Thrawsunblat just seems to hit the nail just right, more so than most folk bands I’ve heard lately.

Dead of Winter is a melodic monster that I found myself returning to often to get the blood boiling. The short a-cappella start feels like its setting up for something softer, but don’t be fooled, Thrawsunblat turns things up as expected again in a ferocious manner. When the band decides to tone done the destructive sound of their instruments, there are times the band truly emits a grand light of beauty, like around the half-way point in Rivers of Underthought. The clean solid guitar work in combination with symphonic elements radiates with an elegant sound.

Though this is by far a different step than Woods of Ypres was, it’s good to see the surviving members involved in a band such as Thrawsunblat. Metachthonia is a fiercely driven melodic and folk metal album that is undeniably magnificent in every sense of the word.

Killing Songs :
Fires That Light The Earth, She Who Names The Stars, Dead Winter, Rivers of Underthought
Jared quoted 90 / 100
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