Thy Light's depressive black metal is wide-ranging and many-sided, and shows influences from the South American folk music. The initial “Suici.De.spair” is a poignant piano melody that projects us straight into the intense and melancholy atmosphere of the album that opens up then with pathos in “Wanderer of Solitude”. I think that this song and “Corredor Seco” show more clearly the influences of South American culture, especially in their acoustic sections. Thy Light also experiment with different vocal registers, not just the usual desperate screaming typical of depressive black metal; for example “No Morrow Shall Dawn” has excellent clean vocals.
The fusion of depressive black metal with elements of folk music gives this album a touch that makes this band unique in the depressive black metal panorama. It seems that in the last few years depressive black metal has had a significant growth, and the bands that play this genre are increasingly more; but what distinguishes Thy Light from other bands that I have listened to and reviewed, is an excellent and professional production and good technical skills: Paolo Bruno, who is responsible for all instruments, knows really how to play well. The music of Thy Light is also varied and not repetitive: you will find a wide range of solutions and above all a variety of atmospheres from the melancholic to the oneiric.
The lyrics are the job of Alex Witchfinder and are about themes typical of depressive black metal, that is nostalgia and suicide. “Wanderer of Solitude” contains a quote about nostalgia from Soviet film director Andrei Tarkovsky.
In conclusion, No Morrow Shall Dawn is a masterpiece that conflates the depressive and sad side of suicidal black metal with a Latin feeling. A real masterpiece and a must for all fans of depressive black metal.
Notes:
No Morrow Shall Dawn was released on July 20, 2013 on Pest Productions. Also available in a limited edition 8-panel digipak CD, limited to 500 copies.
The album was streamed in its entirety on the Pest Productions Bandcamp profile on July 2nd, 2013; 18 days before its release date.
“Corredor Seco” in Portuguese translates to “Dry Corridor”, the name of a wet and restricted place in the middle of “The Zone”, a “mystical” nuclear forbidden area in Andrei Tarkovski's movie "Stalker" (1979).
Tracklist: 1. Suici.De.spair 2. Wanderer of Solitude 3. No Morrow Shall Dawn 4. Corredor Seco 5. The Bridge | 03:32 10:33 13:38 03:36 09:49 41:08 |
Paolo Bruno: all instruments, vocals
Alex Witchfinder: lyrics
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