TYRANN

With members of Tyrann contributing to 1349, Tsujder, Koldbrann and Grimfist, it goes without saying that this particular project will be beastly. Beginning life as a side project of mainman Draugluin, the band were put to sleep in 2002 before being revived in 2006. ‘Shadows of Leng’ is the band’s debut release of devastating black thrash metal and it is a strong effort. The opening ‘Reaper’ is a poor decision to start an album with, seeing as nothing stands out and it comes across as generic fast-tempo black metal with little thrash attached. However, with the following track ‘Beneath’, the album flies into overkill mode and unleashes an onslaught of sharp guitars with reckless riffs and melodic solos straight out of the ‘80s thrash metal scene. Counteracting their speed is ‘Hellridden’ which moves at a stalking slower pace, creeping and ominous. An even more unpredictable feature would be ‘Grave Dreamer’ which plunges itself into an eerie acoustic moment and employs melodic guitar leads and a thoughtful bass sound. Mediocre black/thrash attempts are synonymous with ‘Shub-Niggurath’ and ‘Dreams of K’lveh’ but at least the latter contains entertaining and inventive drumming. The lyrical inspiration of Tyrann comes from horror writer HP Lovecraft and his Cthulu Mythos adding to the element of mystery. To conclude, Tyrann have got a good amount of experience under their belt with other projects to create a memorable debut that hopefully they will build upon in future releases to turn more heads.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Dark Essence Records

Album

SHADOWS OF LENG

Review by Elena Francis

RUNNING TIME:

45:39

RELEASE DATE:

23rd Feb 2009

TRACK LISTING

1) Reaper
2) Beneath
3) Trial by Fire
4) Hellridden
5) Dreams of R'Lyeh
6) Shub-Niggurath
7) Soulburner
8) Black Moon
9) Grave Dreamer

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Norway

"...devastating black thrash metal..."