Lychgate - Precipice (2025)^{Release ID: 65303}

The new Lychgate album is likely the last new release in metal that we'll ever get before the new year dawns. And with only over 24 hours before it becomes 2026 in my country, I thought this would be the right album to check out as the clock is ticking down. It's probably the most experimental album of the year, and one that further shows how well I can keep up in The North despite that clan being the least likely for me to ever join.

You want extreme progressive metal more twisting than a supermassive black hole? It's all in this album Precipice! What we have here is the deathly progressive metal of Opeth blended with the avant-garde black metal of Dodheimsgard. Rhythm and melody are covered within heavy riffing, clean leads, and classical keys. The vocals are pretty much what to expect in extreme metal, including chaotic growls and screams. It is also lyrically based on the philosophical works of Forster, Wells, and Eliot, specifically the dark bleakness of humanity's dependence on machines.

The intro of this 9-track album, "The Sleeper Awaits" sets everything up in a haunting fashion, as heard in the piano and orchestration. "Mausoleum of Steel" crashes in with dark aggression balanced out with progressiveness. The devilish harsh vocals in front of the orchestration and metal is so strange yet tempting. "Renunciation" is even darker, further into the center of the world. Leads and vocals unite for a dissonant sound alongside the bass and drums. It's truly a beast lurking in the shadows!

"The Meeting of Orion and Scorpio" turns into clean light tainted by eeriness. Seems like the beast is having its rest. "Hive of Parasites" is a spooky progressive 10-minute epic. It may take some time for listeners to get used to what's going on, but when you do, you can fully embrace it as it embraces you. The vocals stay harsh throughout this cavernous quest. "Death's Twilight Kingdom" has some piano and bass in the intro before the metal beast moves again. Everything keeps changing before you can get a sense of what's happening, like something appears, disappears, and reappears.

"Terror Silence" has a more straight structure that's easy to understandable. Still they have the Opeth-like aspect of shapeshifting riffing. "Anagnorisis" adds to the album's lyrical focus of discovering the true existence of someone else rather than your own. Everything's so dark and deadly, and for me, it's my sweet dessert. Doom is impending... And it comes in "Pangaea". For just 3 short minutes, you feel the black hole engulf you in darkness and death. Then before long, your journey ends on a satisfying note.

Like the edge of a cliff that the album title means, Precipice will give you the feeling of hanging on to your life. It's an experience so unsettling yet pleasant. And in the end, it's all worth leveling up your metal soul!

Favorites: "Mausoleum of Steel", "Renunciation", "Hive of Parasites", "Death's Twilight Kingdom", "Anagnorisis"