Petrychor's first release, the Dryad EP, was highly acclaimed, including by me. And as such, this full-length was ever so anticipated. I could barely wait.
Eventually when I came across this release, it actually didn't catch my fancy the first time, or even the second. I couldn't see the connection between this release and the last that I one, expected, and two, read from an interview of Tad Piecka (the person behind this project).
However, perhaps at least connected to the fact their first EP resonated with me so much, I decided to give this release another try. And this time, perhaps it was my mood or the context, or whatever, but I felt a semblance to the resonance I did with the EP.
This album is amazing. It has many of the same similar elements that made Dryad, and fans of that release, like myself, to be draw in again. The folk, the classical, you name it. And of course all the elements that make it akin to Cascadian BM. However, as a full release, it attempts to expand on this expression, and make it whole. However similar they may be, I felt a fundamental difference in it's expression. Dryad may be interpreted as conveying a more "positive" sound, and that is part of what makes it, a positive beauty. But with Effigies and Epitaphs, there's a darkness there not present in Dryad. I feel it in the vocals, but even in the overall atmospheres, amongst other elements. The very existence of the song Seared, Sundered, the epitome of the dark expressions I'm describing, is proof of this. However, I think it is quite deliberate despite what I say, that this song is not at the end of the album, perhaps signifying that the conclusive feeling of this album is not a spiral into darkness, but simply that it is a reaction to the darkness entrenched in the ecological destruction ever-present around us. Afterall, beneath highway and street, things will grow back through the cracks...
Highly recommended album, especially for fans of Cascadian BM with strong folk elements, and classical.
Album Name: Effigies and Epitaphs
Band: Petychor
Genre: Black Metal/Ambient/Post-Rock/Folk
Year: 2011
Country:USA
Track Listing:
| 1. | I Lift My Voice | 02:27 | ||
| 2. | In Remembrance | 10:43 | ||
| 3. | Of Grandest Majesties | 13:17 | ||
| 4. | Subjugated and Abused | 09:19 | ||
| 5. | Seared, Sundered | 03:01 | ||
| 6. | Beneath Highway and Street | 14:19 | ||
| Total playing time | 53:06 | |||
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