Review Summary: An album that showed the true potential of a potentially huge band; Had they not broke up...
This was admittedly the first album I heard from the potential Death Metal giants from France called Yyrkoon (Pronounced Ear-Koon).
The first thing I noticed during my first listen was that unlike other now-known metal bands such as Gojira from the France area; Yyrkoon possesed something different, something intense in a very subtle form, something reminiscent that I couldnt put my finger on. That "something of familiarity" was that although it WAS somewhat prevalent that they were indeed from France; Having that very thick sound behind powerful chord riffage. It was their other quality that impressed me; They sound more like the Golden Age of Polish Death Metal living in the veins of bands more along the lines of Behemoth, Decapitated, Dies Irae and the like. Especially in the field of vocals and drum work.
Even more impressive was that I discovered that not only do they somewhat emulate the Polish Death Metal area of playing, they also have suprisingly well-written lyrics pertaining to the Occult, The Watcher Race, Other Dimensions, Ancient Sumerianism and so on.....Very much in the memorandum of earlier/later Behemoth style lyrics, such as Behemoth's "Demigod" album. Which I enjoyed thoroughly on a level of respect and simple admiration for the composition of such amazingly thought-out and all-around universally Anti-Religious lyrics.
Epsecially with songs like "From The Depths":
I can not even give the shadow of an idea
Of what this strange and scary thing resembled
She was an horrible combination of all is that us;
Frightening, importunate, abnormal and foul on this earth
Chaotic messenger
From Underworld
Unreal - figurah
From the depths
It was like the rot's reflection
From disappeared times and desolation
Which pitiful planet should
Forever mask the naked appearance?
Phantasm putrid of a pernicious revelation
God knows this thing is not from this world
And yet in my dread I could recognize into this gnawed matter
Where showed bones, like a ludicrous and sneering transvestite
With human shape
There was in this rotting apparatus and decomposed
A sort of vile quality, to which frozen my blood
Chaotic messenger
From Underworld
Unreal - figurah
From the depths
Phantasm putrid of a pernicious revelation
God knows...
This thing...
Is not from this world
....I love the references to how this "Messenger" is a woman of grotesque form and sight (When it's blatantly obvious they're referring to the Occult God "Cthulhu" [Being the aforementioned "Beast from the Depths"])
And as luck would have it; This is actually the last album they released. To me; quitting before they had a real chance to show everyone what they were made of. As this album I believe had just begun to show their true abilities, and had the capacity to become something immense.
And I know; Their album "Occult Medicine" is rated as being better and more of what Yyrkoon "Truely" sounded like; But I disagree - Now, "Occult Medicine" was INDEED an amazing album, but certainly not better than "Unhealthy Opera"; If nothing else, "Occult Medicine" was a good conditioner album for newer listeners to the genre, and even better as a sort of Prequel so-to-speak to "Unhealthy Opera". With "Occult Medicine" being just the tip of the iceberg for the potential that Yyrkoon had/possibly still has.
I also understand that I'm partially speaking out of bias for "Unhealthy Opera", it being the first material of theirs that I got ahold of, but believe me; I own both albums now and on just a level of complete generalism; For the albums as wholes - Unhealthy Opera is more matured, thought-out, and simply heavier in sound and fullness... Their chugs (be them somewhat sparse) are thick and brutal, their lyrics have good hooks, and the album as an entirety is simply a more rewarding experience for fans of the immediate genre.... (Falling in the lines of bands like: Behemoth, Gojira, Decapitated, Dies Irae, Hate, The Ocean, etc etc....)
This album is worth at least 1 complete listen to newcomers and an analytical listen to diehards.
....Still pains me that these guys quit so soon though; They had the capacity to become something amazing, at least they release 2 awesome albums before splittin'.
SONGS TO LOOK FOR on "Unhealthy Opera":
# 2. Unhealthy Opera
# 3. From The Depths
# 4. Avatar Ceremony
# 5. Temple of Infinity (instrumental)
# 6. Abnormal Intrusion
# 7. Screaming Shores
# 8. The Book
# 9. Horror From The Sea
# 11. ....Of Madness
....Most of the entire cd is awesome for one reason or another. Maybe A song or 2 that dont stack up to the rest but thats a SERIOUS maybe.
All in all I give it a 4.5/5 because there ARE better bands in this exact same genre, but those are really just the bands I previously mentioned and honestly Yyrkoon comes REAL close to some of them.
