I was philosophising ‘bout a right introduction to this project, but I really do not know how to start. Reason: my eternal gratitude, devotion, passion for Californian act Twilight, one of the most eccentric, mysterious and unique existences ever…
Actually, Twilight were formed more than a decade ago by some huge, and I do really mean: ‘huge’, names within the (Black) Metal scene: Lord N. Imperial (think: The Royal Arch Blaspheme, Nachtmystium, Hidden, Krieg, March Into The Sea and many others), Scott ‘Malefic’ Corner (Xasthur, Mord a.o.), Jeff ‘Wrest’ Whitehead (known from e.g. Lurker Of Chalice, Leviathan, Hate Meditation and so on), Hildolf (Draugar), and Blake ‘Azentrius’ Judd (of Nachtmystium / Ezurate / Krieg / Hate Meditation / Drug Honkey-fame).
Though the guys never really met (at least not all together, as a ‘band’), they recorded a first album, self-titled, which was of a superior quality. The USBM they brought was the purest definition of Underground Cult for sure. Because Twilight never existed as a ‘real band’, there were no live performances, and after the release of that first album, Twilight were considered ‘broken-up’.
However, Imperial, Wrest and Azentrius joined forces shortly after with Sanford Parker (especially known as producer for many extreme bands, yet formerly or currently also involved as musician in, for example, Minsk, Mastodon, Corrections House, Behold! The Living Corpse, Buried At Sea etc.), Stavros Giannopoulos (involved with The Atlas Moth), and Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, Isis, House Of Low Culture or Lotus Eaters), and this collaboration resulted in a second full album, Monument To Time End; indeed another monumental record! Once again, things went silent for a while…
Enter 2013. The former ‘line-up’, with exception of Aaron and Judd (though the latter co-operated within the writing process and lay-out finalisation), yet including Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore (said is that he has always been a passionate adept of Black Metal), joined forces once again to record a third album, eventually called III: Beneath Trident’s Tomb. The material, consisting of six titles, lasts for over forty minutes (the tracks clock in between four and nine minutes), and goes even further than both former releases. More than before, the grim, filthy Black compositions are sickened by a droning, sludgy, post-grinding sound (once again one cannot deny the effect of Sanford Parker’s collaboration). Opening ‘song’ Lungs, for example, sounds like a very early Godflesh track sonically translated by Leviathan… And that so-called Psycho-grind effect (read: Godflesh, Scorn, Pitch Shifter, early O.L.D. etc.) is a self-repeating element throughout III: Beneath Trident’s Tomb, giving an extremely suffocative spirituality to these bleak, mechanically incorrect, industrialised Doom-versus-Grind Black-Sludge-Drone compositions.
Abstract-surreal summary: how would Vae Victis or Streetcleaner have sounded if performed by Abruptum?... Got the picture (a very perverse, blood-splattered picture, evidently…)…?...
Worth checking out, but for a limited, mentally sick audience only, I guess. Don’t worry, I am part of the bunch…