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Zyklon > Disintegrate > Reviews > Diamhea
Zyklon - Disintegrate

Just let me have my vile ritual. - 70%

Diamhea, February 25th, 2014

While it still can't match World ov Worms, Disintegrate makes a concerted effort to rectify many of the pitfalls introduced on the lackluster Aeon, and at the very least ends Zyklon's career on a relatively high note. These compositions are stuffed to the brim with multiple shifts in both tone and delivery, being lively without necessarily becoming hectic and chaotic. The production values are also top notch this time around, lending a deservedly massive sonic palette to the proceedings that help amplify the snappy nature of Torson's kit alongside the windswept tremolo barrage.

Sechtdamon even impresses this time around, sparingly radiating a number of disparate vocal styles not limited to his sepulchral death roars. He delivers some of the half-shouting melodic passages that hail back to Daemon's fiendish inflection from World ov Worms. While I could easily stack Disintegrate up to Zyklon's spectacular debut and highlight all of the reasons it still falls short, that would shortchange the fact that the band wisely discarded the memories of the meandering Aeon and surreptitiously threw away the key. While Zyklon clearly still takes heavy influence from mid-era Morbid Angel and the like, the mixing pot of styles has become even more eclectic, drawing from a multitude of more modern sources and taking great advantage of it.

While the lack of keyboards still leaves an atmospheric void, part of the cybernetic patina that the band began to move away from has returned along with the boomy, sterile nature of the mix. Samoth's tremolo barrage billows forth and suffocates with it's burning, buzzsaw tone. The atonal ascending lower-register riffs help fill the remaining gaps as the entire performance meshes into a cohesive assault on the senses. In fact, Zyklon very nearly comes off as a less busy Suffocation during some of the heavier passages of "Wrenched". The solos are also spectacular odes to excess, with the notably chaotic solo on "Vulture" standing out upon first listen.

Just like on Aeon, the final track is a slower, more atmospheric romp that hails back to "An Eclectic Manner". While "Skinned and Endangered" is rightfully more measured in it's delivery, the atonal harshness of the axes really help them slide into their comfort zone here. This ratchets up the heaviness of Disintegrate and upstages nearly anything the band has released from a purely hostile viewpoint. In fact, the calamitous inhibition to the guitar work reminds me of fellow Norwegians Sarcoma Inc. and their overwhelming barrage of distorted corpulence.

Torson continues to upstage his previous performances, upping the ante regarding speed and vivacity on the kit. The poppy snare and organic timbre to the rest of the drum set help sell the appeal of Disintegrate's modern sonic palette. While the bass' presence has taken a notable step back since Aeon, it matters little when the guitars are this well balanced. In fact, Disintegrate is one of the best produced modern death metal records I have ever heard next to Decapitated's Organic Hallucinosis.

As such, it remains a shame that Samoth decided to throw in the towel on the entire project following this album. Zyklon was finally on the upswing again, clearly taking the project seriously enough to include a multitude of stimulating and crushing songwriting attributes that set the band apart from the horrendously overcrowded death metal scene. While it still has the proclivity to sound samey at times, Disintegrate ends up embodying what Aeon truly wanted to be, making it a required acquisition for fans of the band after World ov Worms.