Lychgate are a new project, but it can be considered a continuation of Archaicus, a solo outfit by Englishman J.R.Y. Vortigern. This guy was also involved with another great act, Spearhead (he used to be this band’s drummer up to 2010), and some might know him from his collaboration with Macabre Omen’s Alexandros (aka Evil Dark aka I) in The One (for the purists: this Greek, Alexandros Antoniou, now resides in the U.K. and plays with acts like Scythian or Razor Of Occam, amongst others). Vortigern was also in defunct Orpheus, together with Tom Vallely (also: Sanctus Nex and Omega Centauri), who (Tom) joined Lychgate’s ranks after the change of name. Two other known entities were recruited too to complete Lychgate’s line-up: German colleague Aran, whom you might (must) know from the great act Lunar Aurora or the sadly defunct solo-project Trist, and Greg A. Chandler, one of the founding guys behind cult-Doom band Esoteric.
This nameless debut was recorded at the Eidola and Priory Studios during 2012, with Mr Chandler behind the knobs. Greg is known for his mixing and mastering works for lots of international extreme bands too, such as his main band Esoteric, but the list is endless: Faal, Pantheist, Grave Miasma, Throne Of Nails, Comatose Vigil and many more. The stuff clocks almost thirty eight minutes and will be released on CD by Mordgrimm, and on vinyl through Gilead Media.
What Lychgate bring is a weird symbiosis of what these guys stand / stood for with their huge curriculum metallicum vitae. This self-titled album combines elements from eerie, grim Black Metal, funereal Doom and haunting passages, combined with a handful of avant-garde additions and expressive explorations. It’s a schismatic equilibrium in between atmospheric obscurity and mysterious inception, both unconventional and self-creative. The huge differentiation in tempo, melody and song structure go hand in hand with a remarkable dissonant undertone of horrific waves of transgendering Extreme Metal (Funeral Doom, Post-Black and Traditional Black, for example, interact with Doom-Death, Blast-Death and Sympho-Black, as well as Dark Ambient). But it does fit. The Lychgate-album isn’t just a lucky shot, nor is it a cheap accumulation of the members’ individual qualities and experience. You probably won’t be surprised this material is a UK-product, for this country houses more of this kind of crap, but you will be surprised by the result. For what it’s worth: I am positively surprised and I can’t get enough. Another pleasant release from 2013 (what a year this is…)!