Label: Purity Through Fire
Origin: Cumbria, United Kingdom
Thy Dying Light is a triumphantly frostbitten return to the old days of black metal, when undying Satanic loyalty and vehement rejection of society were equally as important as the music. The music is raw, cold, and dark — sure to satisfy anyone whose dreams are filled with rotting forests obscured by falling snow.
In the better part of four years, Thy Dying Light has steadily built their arsenal of old-school black metal masterpieces. Many of the tracks on their self-titled debut full length album have been released before in the form of demos and EPS, but without the production quality and streamlined flow showcased on the new record. Azrael (guitars and drums) and Hrafn (vocals, guitars and bass) have found a firm foothold in an increasingly crowded space, and effortlessly ascended to the top of this blackened field.
Thy Dying Light has nailed a notice of their existence to Lucifer’s door. Their imagery conjures up early Darkthrone records, in which corpse-painted grimaces scream for relief from the hell of modern society. Melodic interludes between beautifully intense segments of music are injected into the blood of every track, yet chilling vocals retain a sense of foreboding evil throughout. The delicate balance between refinement and chaotic anger is struck with perfection: peaceful endings to “Under the Horns” and “Cold in Death” are curtailed in the fiery introduction of tracks such as “Impaler.” Many other bands offer slower sections and melody as respite from the madness; Thy Dying Light manages to successfully provoke the listener to desire increasingly disturbing levels of chaos. This is a feat in and of itself, and I found myself unintentionally reaching suicidal speeds along the highway of deadly riffage.
Standout track “Ritual Altar” is a chunky, evil love song to the Dark One. Burning with slow intensity and dripping with deliciously melodic lead licks, “Ritual Altar” is stuffed with bloodcurdling howls that linger in the air like poisonous fog. Drums weave in and out — a theme carried throughout the whole album — and a compositional strategy that effortlessly ramps up songs from the first crushing riff to the final growl of dominant desperation. This evolutionary tapestry is not just apparent from song to song, but throughout the fabric of Thy Dying Light. Each track commands its own domain, confidently thrusting the helpless listener into the middle of every engorged sermon.
Ritual Altar (16:05-22:03) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0FN3-k7yN4
Thy Dying Light is remarkably varied considering its homage to early chaotic black metal. Perhaps more impressive: this blending of pace and structure serves to enhance the record’s authenticity. If hearing this album upon entering Helvete (the record store in Oslo at the heart of the black metal movement) I wouldn’t bat an eye, and would be shocked to learn it was from the UK in 2020. Hrafn’s vocals impeccably embody the emotion and power contained within the genre’s very best, and deliver a diabolical empathy uncommon in many releases since the dark dawn of black metal. What Thy Dying Light has achieved is groundbreaking: by taking detailed notes from iconic groups such as Gorgoroth and Bathory, they have created an evil incantation as vicious as anything black metal has produced in the past decade.
FFO: Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Bathory