Style: dissonant death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Gorguts, Ulcerate, Portal
Country: international
Release date: 16 August 2024
Another week, another dissodeath opus, this time from new-kids-on-the-block Evilyn (though they aren’t completely green as they have lots of experience in other Subway-friendly projects like Malignancy, WAIT, Ashen Horde, as well as a handful of other accomplished, Andy-approved bands). Anthony Lipari (Thoren) has assembled the talent necessary for Evilyn to twist and squelch through dense, Gorgutsian death metal—that’s for sure—so does Mondestrunken (named after a legendary Schoenberg piece) live up to the expectations?
Dense and cagey like Schoenberg or Gorguts, Mondestrunken certainly is, but its mysteries hidden until multiple listens through aren’t as well-composed nor brilliant as their forebears. After several spins, I gleaned more structure and hidden riffs within the overwhelming, claustrophobic mix of Coma Cluster Void’s Jeanne Comateuse, but they’re perpetually at a plodding walk, occasionally switching to a crawl or jog, and they punch with little force. Moreover, they aren’t as technically composed or played as others in the crowded scene, and I have little reason to return; I feel let down for similar reasons as I didn’t enjoy the previous Abyssal or Acausal Intrusion releases. Evilyn bleed little variation between tracks or even sections within tracks: we get thirty-six minutes of similar riffs only occasionally disjoined by whacky, chromatic solos. Normally I’m against gimmicks, but Evilyn could desperately use one to stave off their frankly boring riffs.
The worst problem with Mondestrunken (yes, worse than bland riffs) is the misguided attempts at being heavy as balls. Rather than write particularly crushing, meat-tenderizing riffs, they play lethargic and tepid doom metal ones and attempt to make it crushing by cranking the subhuman-register bass up and also downtuning the guitars to embarrassing levels. Paranoid used standard tuning and sure as hell feels heavier than Evilyn sans harsh vocals. Most detail also gets lost in the cavernous bass clacking. Unilaterally across Mondestrunken, the highlights are when the silly bass-tone is turned down and another instrument takes a more obvious lead like the chaotic solo to close out “Dread” or the lead riffs in “Bloviate” which take on a more natural tone, still full-bodied but allowing for much richer details to come through. These sections that the band likely intended to be the breaks from the onslaught of “heavy” sections ironically become the heaviest because the atmosphere doesn’t feel as forced, allowing for the instrumentation and songwriting to shine. Evilyn need not rely on faux heavy from forced, brickwalled, bass-heavy production because I know every member of the trio has played leaden heaters before—bassist of Evilyn Alex Weber had my favorite riff performance of the year with Malignancy, even.
Rarely does a so-called supergroup blow everybody away—expectations are too lofty—but Mondestrunken is a failed attempt at dissodeath. I’m easy to appease with skronky riffs and equivocal writing, but I need it to be a bit headier. If you took away the murky Portal-isms and obnoxious bass, this is simple at its core. I know these musicians have much more in the tank, so I’m left bitterly disappointed for an album I had Convulsing-level hopes going into. Also, what’s the story behind the band name? Is one of them hung up on an ex named Evilyn or something?
Recommended tracks: Bloviate
You may also like: Mære, Coma Cluster Void, Haar, Norse, Malignancy, Convulsing, Abyssal, Acausal Intrusion
Final verdict: 4/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Metal-Archives page | Facebook
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Evilyn is:
– Alex Weber (bass)
– Robin Stone (drums)
– Anthony Lipari (guitars, vocals)
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