Hyms of the Highthrones

Truly deep in a forgotten forest, lost between roots of monolithic-gargantuan trees, and the gray, sullen uncertainty of the mist; there are the high-thrones, a mythic place where the profane and the unholy converges, where obscure rituals are celebrated and the unspoken occurs. The woods are spellbound by dark and ancient magic, those who dare to enter this realm are damned, but certainly in search of its forbidden secrets. Gloomy are the mystic passages in the halls of the grove. The hymn can be heard from afar, it is shamanic, supernatural, and cavernous, as if the fallen king of this land was coming back from the dead, riding attired of darkness.

This is the atmosphere that Thy Mist crafted in sound, production, music, lyrics, and looks to proudly present it in the form of "Hyms of the Highthrones" a solid debut filled as much with black metal as with dungeon-synth, and the result is nothing short of majestic. From the very start, you can foresee that you are in for something special since the record opens with, what for many could seem as an ordinary intro track, a prelude of the main act in black metal splendor, but that is not the case, the opener is a proper song that stands for itself although is nothing but synthesizers, the main music figure is some kind of eerie keyboard that evokes instantly, reminiscences of the 90's in the best of ways, it sounds like what dungeons sounded for us back then, however after you get that placid sensation of shelter, strings —magnificently— take control of the piece, elevating its melody to a glorious yet mistirious realm, the composition is so well thought and written that it even makes you forget that this is primarily extreme music. Is that good, the dungeon-synth aspect of the band is justified after just one track, Autumnus knows and enjoys what he is doing with those pieces, they are not just ambient tunes, formed by dull, lazy hold notes, no, these songs have gotten the same care and devotion from the artist as the longest, faster and complex black metal songs.

When the characteristic elements of the black metal genre arrive in this full-length, they explode with the enormous force of a storm, it is cold, harsh, raw, melancholic, and dark, yet beautiful and enigmatic. Every solid debut must have at least one song as pennant, one that is recognizable and good enough to recommend the band, or the whole record, with full confidence just with that track alone, and in my opinion, Thy Mist achieved this with: "Visions in the Ancient Woods". Every single classic aspect of the genre is implemented with knowledge and understanding of the tools and resources one can use, you have your obligatory main riff, your inevitable blast beats, and wild, demonic murky vocals, all this attired with an exceptional, but humble, supporting keyboard line, it sounds welcoming, like a comeback to one's cabin in winter. As a veteran of this genre, the composer uses all his experience to create something familiar yet engaging and enjoyable. The complexity of black metal music resides in simple ideas turned into a forest of sounds, and nothing is more satisfactory than having a great-cold riff slowed down to enter a nasty passage where you can feel the wicked essence of the forest, such as in the middle part of this anthem, that I must comment, it is long but mandatory for a record of these characteristics, a long frozen hymn that justifies its length with varied riffs, vivid passages and beyond the grave vocals. As soon as the extreme sounds burst out at the beginning of the song you get reminiscences of black metal monsters such as Burzum, Summoning, Paysage d'Hiver but also Satyricon (old), Baptism, and even Darkthrone, however, the band is never searching to sound like them or write like them, the influences are there, but Autumnus is focused on expressing his dark emotions and tormented ideas in music form, pandering only to its true nature. The song culminates with an atmospheric moment allowing us to reflect on the song and letting us know that the gale has passed, adding a well-incorporated melancholic element to the piece.

One important aspect to mention is the vocals, they are truly cavernous and horrid, perfect for the glacial melodies of doom that the whole full-length offers, but in one song, in particular, their participation stands out even when it is almost ethereal and brief, I am of course talking about "We Ride in the Darkness" a dungeon-synth shelter after the blizzard, where the voice, in the form of a chant, performs as support for the music in one of the most atmospheric and delightful moments of the record, this followed up with more black arts. Solid riffs and harsh arpeggios are accompanied by beautiful keyboards, which more often than not, in many projects could result in awkward or out-of-place combinations, almost comical; here they are sober and always working in favor of the guitars, the second metal track is a song well structured that I have found myself playing on repeat several times to listen to that mystic, obscure arpeggio that reminds me of Forgotten Woods, and that's the point! Yes, this is conventional black metal, atmospheric black metal if you will, nothing new nor pretending to be a deconstruction of the genre. Allow me to elaborate: for years I dreamt and always wanted those bands to at least honor us with one additional album in that same classic vein, but most bands evolved or changed, some for the better, some, unfortunately, for the worse, so when you listen to something that recreates that old magic with a new voice is always fascinating, it is always something you treasure as an old black metal soldier.

"Unholy preach" is our last dungeon-synth offering that introduces itself as an anxious and agonic piece, one can picture the horrors lurking in the mist, a prelude to what is to come. Finally, we have "Shandenfreude" my absolute favorite song on this abomination of the woods. This is the heaviest song of them all, aggressive and violent it arrives to destroy and put an end to this forester oniric journey. It is fucking cold and unforgiving, bleak and obscure, however, there is this middle section where the keyboards have a moment to shine and they do it majestically, presenting yet again, a familiar yet novel and engaging riff, that blows up followed by guitars, drums, and bass. It is medieval and epic, the song closes by repeating this section, and it's nothing short of brilliant since it keeps you wanting more, and because the offering is short in duration, merely 30 minutes, one cannot help but play it again from the beginning. This album has the peculiar characteristic of being like a story, structured in acts, beginning, middle, climax, and end, so you can enjoy the whole journey linearly or go forward to your favorite part, "The Stars Shall not Look Down" for example and get immerse and lost on it, however, you won't forget that it is an element of the biggest entity, a fragment of a whole, one of the Hyms of the Highthrones .

In conclusion, this debut album could be synthesized just in a few words: brilliant riffs, dark and harsh yet beautiful arpeggios, majestic forester atmosphere, and damn great vocals.

Highlights in hierarchy order: "Visions in the Ancient Woods", "Shandenfreude", "We Ride in the Darkness", "The Stars Shall Look Not Down", "The Highthrones in the Mist", "Unholy Preach".