Album Review: Byzanthian Neckbeard – Minaton (Self Released)

Back with another, fuller bag of riffs, Byzanthian Neckbeard have made good on the promise of their first two releases. The promise? To break headphones with tracks that soundtrack eerie tales of devil worms and other creatures of the night.

Byzanthian Neckbeard may be three miscreants from the foggy island of Guernsey, but they know their way around a bone-shattering song or seven.

Minaton will be released on November 1st 2019.

Setting the scene, The Tale of Raymond is a gothic-tinged spoken word intro that speaks a poem of horror and hellish sights. It’s a precursor to the rumbling and grumbling noise of The Werespider. Here, Byzanthian Neckbeard blend troubling bass with riffs heavy enough to sink and vocals that are on the blacker side of metal. It’s a bit doom but on the bleaker scale with touches of extreme.

The attention grabbing start does its job perfectly but Devil Worms takes that and ups the miserable horror to new levels. Doomy riffs burying their way into the brain and wriggling around disgustingly. It’s absolutely wonderful.

Keeping the gothic and evil tone at the forefront, the title track begins with chanting before the riffs of this gob-smackingly good track twist around the mind like evil roots. Slowly they increase their grip to suffocating levels, choking the life out of you.

It just keeps getting better and better though. Evisceration Stare and Necron 5 varying up the heavy with some downright imaginative moments. The former has this groove to it that could almost be catchy while the latter takes its time with a tome of darkness.

With evil intentions, Byzanthian Neckbeard present the penultimate track, Condemned to the Swamp. The slow trawl into filth and decay, something that could be cloying but never feels as such, thanks to the bands knack for avoiding repetition.

Finally hell is fully realised with Out of the Deep. The monstrous being that arises enough to make you want to rip your eyes out so you don’t have to gaze upon it and tear your ears off so you don’t have to hear its wicked cries.

Cries that scream two words… Byzanthian Neckbeard.

Byzanthian Neckbeard – Minaton Full Track Listing:

1. The Tale of Raymond
2. The Werespider
3. Devil Worms
4. Minaton
5. Evisceration Stare
6. Necron 5
7. Condemned to the Swamp
8. Out of the Deep

Links

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