EP Review: Elyrean – Blacken the Sun (Self Released)

Elyrean were formed at the back end of 2015 by Asa Jones (Bass/Vocals) and Daryl Payne (Drums),. They had a singular purpose. To breathe new life into Thrash Metal. After spending nearly 2 years in a state of revolving guitarists, they found a complete line up with Dan Kraushar (Guitars) and Will Edwards (Guitars). Influenced by the likes of Sylosis, Death, Revocation, The Black Dahlia Murder and Kreator, they set themselves on a mission to produce Thrash Metal with a Technical edge whilst blending a mix of other influences, such as Doom, Death and Black.

2019 has been a great year for the band. They took part in the Wolverhampton leg of the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses events seeing off fierce competition to emerge as winners playing the legendary festival later in August 2019.

To cap off this year, Elyrean are now releasing their debut EP, Blacken the Sun. Available on December 14th 2019.

The distant echo of bells, the caw of a crow…Blacken the Sun is a dark thrash metal release. The intro of Where the Light Has Failed to Reach kicks in and gleefully delivers a thumping combination of guitar, drums and violins. It’s not at all what you might expect from an underground thrash outfit.

With eyes on a bigger prize, as they should be, Elyrean are absolutely going for gold here and once we really get into the meat of Unhallowed, it’s clear to see they are way ahead of the pack. Hyper-active riffing, blackened vocals and a deeper sense of rhythm is the driving force behind this and every other track on the EP.

There’s some real aggression to Distorted Reality that just perks the ears up. switching the tempo up from traditional thrash speed to eerie and echoing melody. The drumming in particular, a very beastly effort, stands out.

The no nonsense out and out attack of the title track takes things in rough and tough direction. Not out of the ordinary for Elyrean but certainly the band throwing their all into delivering a track that will leave most on their asses. A wicked guitar solo, energetic and energising is the icing on the battered and smashed cake.

Prepping us for a hell of a final two tracks, Elyrean then drop in a short melody track in the form of The Smouldering of Ashes. Like the opener, it really shows the scope of Elyrean’s thinking and is very pretty to hear.

It’s nice a break from the metal assault especially as what follows is blow after blow until you’re completely numb.

First up is Fallen Ground, a track that is riff heaven. The guitars do all the heavy lifting here and it results in a sometimes frantic, other times epic sounding metal number. Before Swarming Darkness settles the mind briefly all so when the band do erupt it’s all the more impactful and damn, does it work.

This is an EP that well and truly announces Eyrean as the metal band of the future.

Elyrean – Blacken the Sun Full Track Listing:

1. Where the Light Has Failed to Reach
2. Unhallowed
3. Distorted Reality
4. Blacken the Sun
5. The Smouldering of Ashes
6. Fallen Ground
7. Swarming Darkness

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