Review Summary: A great piece of atmospheric metal with something for fans of multiple genres to appreciate.
When I think of a heavily atmospheric metal album, I think of long, grand compositions which take their time to create the atmosphere they were written to convey. After all, atmosphere is a big component of many extreme metal releases, and without it the music wouldn’t have nearly enough lasting power to warrant more than one listen. However, it is possible to create a really heavy atmosphere while keeping the pace moving faster than a crawl. Belgian atmospheric death/black metallers Thurisaz show just that and more with their second album, 2007’s
Circadian Rhythm. It is an album which was unexpectedly heavy yet comfortably smooth as far as the songwriting is concerned. There are elements present from all over the metal spectrum, all melted together into songs which contain brilliantly smooth transitions and a relaxed, easily accessible nature to them.
The guitars are certainly the central focus of the atmosphere which seems to work its way into every aspect of the music throughout the album. They aren’t afraid to be crushingly heavy, dropping into verses full of lower-tuned chords and guttural vocals, but also sometimes layer these chords with brilliant melodies that turn the tables completely upside down. It is certainly apparent that the fellows in Thurisaz aren’t short on riffs, because time signatures are being thrown around like this is a progressive album; the guitars constantly changing riffs around in a way that keeps the longer songs seem unnaturally short. To add to the atmosphere, voice samples are used in the beginning of “The Point Of No Return” amidst thundering guitar riffs and a droning keyboard melody, a nicely composed moment which adds more than you would imagine to the tone of the song.
Circadian Rhythm is also vocally diverse, making hearty use of guttural death metal vocals, the raspy, high-pitched screeches of black metal and some fairly monotone clean vocals. Now, the death and black metal vocals are spot-on perfect, but many of the moments when the cleans enter really draw away from the awe of the musicianship in favor of confusion, because the singing really isn’t terribly good nor does it add the amount of depth to the music which the band seemingly aspired them to do. It’s not really an album-killer, though, because the solid production of the instruments more than makes up for it. The fantastic drumming will always be audible to keep the beat of the song and the pace rolling, while the acoustic guitars are crisp and clear to set the mood for the inevitable tempo change. All too often you’ll find yourself completely sucked in by the instruments, a surprising and welcome experience which makes the album literally fly by.
It’s safe to say that, after listening to
Circadian Rhythm nearly nonstop for the past few days, that Thurisaz are certainly an upcoming metal force, with their perfect blend of brutality, atmosphere, melody, symphonics, and undeniable songwriting ability. This is an album which a wide array of extreme metal fans will enjoy, because there are elements from so many different genres present. The songs here are all enjoyable, the riffs are always original, and
Circadian Rhythm is just simply a beautiful album to listen to. Highly recommended.
