Glory of Negativity

Kim Carl Martin Carlsson is one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in the 00's depressive black metal scene, and his songwriting reflects his stubborn approach to songwriting and promotion. This is extremely evident on his most known project, Hypothermia, and also on this one, Kyla. Compared to his other projects, it existed for merely two years, 2004 and 2005, under which he released only a studio album and three demos, one of which was included in a split EP with Life Neglected, so it's total obscurity in terms of metal niches.

If you know Hypothermia, you know how this album sounds like. Well, actually, there are some differences: these six tracks (the intro and the final one are the same exact song repeated twice with minimal variations) don't sound melodic or influenced by post-rock at all, the riffs are more drenched in cathartic, sulphur-like buzz, there's the evident use of a drum machine and there are less screeching vocals reserved for a few seconds for each track, and far in the background as well. The melodies, instead, revolve around elementary droning open-chord tremolos in D tuning, highlighting modal semitones and dissonances (especially on the intro/outro) and feature more recognizable tonal changes for separate sections: in other words, there's less Mogwai and more abrasive, harsh and esoteric influences like 80's post-punk, Paysage d'Hiver and Joy Division here. Sentimental Negativity seems recorded in a different session, due to its different guitar sound and slightly off intonation, with A-minor riffs more akin to early Shining.

As I've stated before in the review of Rakbladsvalsen, Hypothermia are a poor act, too monotone, whine-sounding and amateurish to sound interesting to my ears. This one, despite sounding similarly minimal, lazy and self-referential, sounds actually better to my ears than Kim Carlsson's future works. I find the distortion used, sounding even flatter and louder, more appropriate in describing claustrophobic, magma-like atmospheres. If Hypothermia sounds like a guy wishing trapped in a room wishing to go outside while gazing through a window, Glory of Negativity sounds like the said guy trapped inside a coffin. The differences listed before actually do matter, and make this album sounds more listenable than most Hypothermia releases. Still, since Kim Carlsson abandoned these primitive sonoroties in favor of straight post-rock (with Hypothermia), dark ambient (with Ritualmord) and a hybrid of the two (with Consider Suicide) or a different brand of black metal (both with Lifelover and Kall), I strongly doubt he will deliver a follower to this album.

You could practically merge Kyla with both Hypothermia and Life Is Pain and not know the difference. Each band is drawn together by Kim Carlsson and each band is very similar to the next. There are some differences, but mostly, they sound exactly the same. I shouldn't complain because I genuinely do like both Hypothermia and Life Is Pain. The latter does happen to have a better sound though than Kyla manage to achieve on the debut full-length 'Glory Of Negativity'. The title itself is apt due to the fact that Kyla bask in the coldness of life quite openly.


Kyla's debut sounds particularly like the Veins era of Hypothermia. Though when I say 'era', I'm exaggerating due to the fact that the next album, which sounded different, was released not long after. Kyla, just like Hypothermia, create a buzzing effect through highly distorted guitars. This buzzing effect is pivotal to Kyla. It draws an atmosphere into the listeners mind and imprints it there forever. The lyrical themes need not exist. The idea of emptiness, cold and suicide is portrayed incredibly well through the music alone. Lyrics need not have a place here. Which is fortunate because I don't know what the lyrics are anyway. They bear no real relevance in the grand scheme of things. Kyla depict emotion through sheer persistence. Repetition becomes a regular occurrence for Kyla. Although many might be put off by this, it helps create that desired effect.


For me, Kyla aren't as good as Hypothermia, though they are very similar. The mere creation of Kyla seems to me like Kim is simply getting the most out of what status he gained through Hypothermia. This detracts from my opinion of Kyla. As well as the band seemingly jumping on the band wagon, as the saying goes, they lack the power that Hypothermia possesses. Hypothermia have an edge and a creative spark that flows throughout their music. It has the ability to draw attention to itself with ease, whereas Kyla are simply lacking in most departments. Glory Of Negativity is simply all the mediocre material that didn't make it on to a Hypothermia album.