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Review: Lyrinx - Nihilistic Purity
Lyrinx
Nihilistic Purity

Label: Insidious Poisoning Records
Year released: 2008
Originally released in: 2007
Duration: 36:28
Tracks: 5
Genre: Black Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: October 25, 2008
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
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Rated 3.56/5 (71.11%) (9 Votes)
Review

Depressing, bleak, raw and downright addictive is how I would describe this release by Lyrinx.  One might even want to describe some parts as "epic-sounding", but this is not what Nihilistic Purity is about.  There's a little bit of everything here, from the rawness and aggression of early Burzum (including some sick screams that sound like they're reaching to you from beyond the grave - and trying to drag you in), to the suicidal Black Metal razor-sharpness of early Xasthur, with a hint of the war march-like epic sound of Graveland (not much of that, but that does pop up off and on throughout the EP.)  The music goes anywhere from crushingly slow and minimalistic, to more melodic, almost soothing (in a depressive, dark-sounding way,if that makes any sense) passages, to speedy thrashing moments to kick some life into you after bringing you just a hair short of death.  The title track has the oddest moment, where there's a short catchy riff (read: air guitar/headbang-inducing) that pops out of nowhere and totally clashes with everything else, but yet somehow manages to fit right in - it surprises me every time I listen to this EP.  Very cool.

While Nihilistic Purity "has been done before" - there's nothing particularly original about it - it is extremely well done for the genre, and I found myself playing it over and over and never feeling the urge to listen to something else (which is why I'm finally reviewing it - I do have other things to listen to and/or review. ;))  No wankering, just basic, raw Black Metal with a (un)healthy dose of atmospheric darkness - just my kind of thing, and Lyrinx are damn good at it.

Additional Information

Also available on CD

More about Lyrinx...
Review: Nihilistic Purity (reviewed by Brett Buckle)
Review: Only the Wind Remembers / Ending the Circle of Life (reviewed by Pagan Shadow)
Review: Universal Absence (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
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