LYCHGATE’s fourth release (and first for Debemur Morti Productions) seems as good a starting point as any for my ears. Having three full-lengths to its name at this point, and with nary a core lineup change since its inception, LYCHGATE should be settled into what it is and what it is not, thereby providing the new listener an experience of a band at its best.
Quite frankly, I’m ashamed at myself, as big a fan of ESOTERIC as I am, not realizing the part Greg Chandler plays as a third of this trio, but rest assured, this isn’t some “pet project” for him, the main songwriting being handled by one Vortigern. From the start, the three-guitar lineup makes its presence known, ‘Incarnate’ being dense as November fog in the Scottish Highlands, droning vocals and PORTAL-esque claustrophobia lurking in the mist, set to consume.
It’s with ‘Progeny Of The Singularity’ that Also sprach Futura really gets its legs under it, though, LYCHGATE’s alchemists seeking and finding that rare blend of element and magick that births musical gold, harsh and unwelcoming, technically imposing yet accessible in its songcraft, and lyrically astute as well. The climax of “My exit from the world / Will now escape your scourge / I die as a star in collapse” tumbles into the churning vortex of ‘Simulacrum’, the myth (?) of Pygmalion writ over, amid a maelstrom of pound, pummel and poignancy.
Wisely saving best for last, ‘Vanity Ablaze’ molds a spiritual/sonic golem of what’s come before, crafting the most grating and most melodic material found on this EP into something very nearly corporeal without losing its sense of the mystic in the process. It’s abundantly clear with Also sprach Futura that LYCHGATE cares deeply about its art. Also, that I have some catching up to do.
Review By: Lord Randall
LYCHGATE
Also sprach Futura
Debemur Morti Productions
4.5 / 6