Review: Back to R’lyeh – The Break

Style: Avant-garde Metal, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Mr Bungle, Sigh
Review by: Christopher
Country: Spain
Release date: 20 March, 2023

Ah, cosmic horror, where would modern metal be without it? Death metal and black metal in particular have cornered the market on concept albums about eldritch horrors from the dark nether regions of our cold, indifferent universe and the maddening effect their unfathomable existence has on us lowly mortals. But it’s unusual for bands outside the aforementioned genres to veer into Lovecraftian territory, bringing us to Back to R’lyeh, a band so crazy they didn’t just go to R’lyeh—the sunken city where the imprisoned Cthulhu dormantly dreams—they went back. 

Hailing from Madrid, this Spanish septet leverage psychedelic and avant-garde influences to bring to life the non-euclidean geometry of their chthonic elder god’s pelagial tomb. At twenty-three minutes, The Break is a relatively brief EP coming hot on the heels of their 2020 sophomore full-length Chosen. I’m coming to Back to R’lyeh as a young uninitiate; will this EP have me chanting in rejoice of an incomprehensible horror from beyond, or merely going insane at the inscrutable awfulness? 

“The Dream” opens the album with appropriately dreamy piano that segues into bizarro ballad territory, an off-kilter funkyness to the choice of chords and guitar tone. Proceedings evolve into organ-accompanied distorted riffs which scream Subterranean Masquerade—indeed, the raspy, unhinged vocals of singers Victor Duro and Jesús Lanzarote bear an uncanny likeness to those of Davidavi “Vidi” Dolev (Subterranean Masquerade, Seventh Station). “The Voices” follows in a more operatically strange manner but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for this sphere of eccentric progressive metal. A squeaking stylophone synth bifurcates this track which tells the tale of a cult follower, our dreamer from the opening track, coming to terms with the fact that he’s already been sacrificed to the cause of resurrecting our indifferent cephalopod overlord. 

Penultimate track “The Break” opens like System of a Down blended with the zany noodling riffs of classic Haken. Vocal shenanigans continue apace with shouts, off-kilter croons, ha-ha-ing and random growls that may prove make-or-break for listeners, but if you like bizarre vocals, Back to R’lyeh will consistently deliver for you. The Break closes with “The Ritual”, in which our sacrificial character witnesses the summoning ritual by loyal cultists to reawaken their dread god. Running to eight minutes, the track builds up with eerie chants in the language of the cultists. But the track never explodes into the epic chaos one might expect from the soundtrack to a cult resurrecting an inscrutable demiurge. Indeed, throughout the EP, Back to R’lyeh play it a little safe for a bizarre group who love cosmic horror. There’s a dark pit of eldritch music to play with, yet they stick to a rather particular strain of eccentric, psychedelic prog that remains pretty familiar. Back to R’lyeh are undoubtedly adept at this particular niche, but it’s nevertheless a niche I’ve heard before and done with more extravagance and creativity. 

A tight EP that doesn’t stray too far outside the bounds of weirder prog for aficionados but remains accessible enough for new initiates to be surprised and challenged, The Break is undeniably fun but doesn’t offer too much to grip on to in further listens. A full-length album playing it this safe would wear thin fast; Back to R’lyeh simply aren’t doing quite enough to differentiate themselves from the crowd here—I can’t shake the uncanny resemblance to Subterranean Masquerade, even if the folk flavours aren’t present. Nonetheless, this is a solid foundation for any band to grow upon, and I hope they can convert me to their cause in future. Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!

Recommended tracks: The Dream, The Ritual
You may also like: Seventh Station, Subterranean Masquerade, Hail Spirit Noir  
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Nooirax Producciones – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Back to R’lyeh is:
– Víctor Duro (vocals)
– Jesús Lanzarote (vocals & keyboards)
– Pablo Sánchez (bass)
– Juan Manuel Fernández (guitar)
– Adrián Hernández (guitar)
– Alberto Martín Pérez (drums)
– Manuel Novoa (guitar)