Badass…fucking…death metal. I really could stop right there but I’m afraid my superiors here at the Treehouse would get upset with me. The truth is though that there really is no better way to describe Disintegrate. Take heed and listen up Treehouse dwellers because Zyklon is one of those bands that should meet with near universal appeal around these parts. No, they’re not reinventing the wheel but like a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, Zyklon is reliably good and will leave you full and satisfied.

First off, some very quick background work for the uninitiated. Zyklon is the brain child of Emperor guitarist, Samoth. He is joined by Emperor drummer, Trym, along with a couple of nice fellows named Sechtdamon and Destructhor. Obviously we don’t have a church choir here but it’s also not the typical black metal that you’d expect from a bunch of guys from Norway with evil names. Zyklon is all about the death metal and man do they do it well. Their take on the genre is particularly appealing as they employ perfect production, mindblowing drums, and a guitar attack that can only be described as enormous…almost intimidating. Your typical Zyklon track is about as subtle as Panzer tank division and I fucking love it. In a genre that can be filled with sameness, the great bands must have a special something that sets them apart from the pack. For Zyklon it’s all about the atmosphere. No, this isn’t black metal but you can tell that’s where these guys cut their teeth. Zyklon’s music is as cold and hard as steel. They have a futuristic vibe to them that’s just so damn cool…kind of like an Apocalyptic war with robots and laser beams. Frantic, yet at the same time totally in control.

Okay, let’s get to the album. Disintegrate pretty much picks up where it’s predecessor, Aeon left off. Basically, if you liked Aeon then you could probably stop reading right now and go run to the record store to get a hold of Disintegrate. The album starts off in explosive fashion with In Hindsight and the title track, a balls to the wall slab of death metal with a frantic pace yet still executed with deadly control. As I mentioned earlier, their sound is just huge and Disintegrate serves as the perfect example. Ways of the World rounds out a spectacular start to the album.

The next three tracks see a slight change of direction as Zyklon’s black metal roots start showing through. The difference is mainly in atmosphere as the guitars are a little higher pitched and less mechanical. Secthdamon (who proves to be a very versatile vocalist) employs a higher pitched, black metal styled scream that really helps the affair to take a turn for the grim. Think of perhaps Old Man’s Child in terms of blackened death metal. Subversive Faith may not be the most original songs in terms of subject matter (congratulations Zyklon, you’ve released the 1,000,000th anti-Christian song) but it is absolutely massive and makes a strong case for the album’s best song. Relentless riffing, scathing vocals, and some fucking sick solos give you pretty much everything you could ask for in the realm of extreme music. A Cold Grave is more of the same with a slightly slower pace and is truly the perfect complement to its predecessor. These songs absolutely bleed the type of atmosphere that so many other bands only wish they could produce. The best I think I could describe Subversive Faith and A Cold Grave would be as the perfect soundtrack to an extremely black and violent thunderstorm. Vile Ritual caps off this chapter perfectly with a straight ahead, ultra-violent ass kicker that goes beyond a mere blackened atmosphere and probably crosses the line fully into the realm of black metal.

Underdog changes gears again and serves to bring the album back to the more controlled, precision attack of the beginning. I love how Zyklon managed to come out like a firing squad at the outset only to sort of ‘lose their composure’ in the middle, and then seem to once again control themselves down the stretch. It gives Disintegrate such original take on rage and emotion over your typical death metal affair, but I digress. Underdog is probably the weakest song on the album. Not so much musically (it kicks ass like everything else here) but, well…let me just put it this way. Death metal vocals can very often come pretty close in tone to an extremely angry canine. Because of that, it seems to me that vocalists should avoid shouting references to man’s best friend if only to avoid some unnecessary corniness. Wrenched and Vulture are pure death metal mayhem and set the stage perfectly for Skinned and Endangered, a plodding, doomy epic that serves as the perfect close to a damn near perfect album.

I was thinking of the best way to wind things up and I figured this would be the perfect time to explain how I come to determine my rating score. I don’t have some specific criteria that attempts to place all albums in the history of metal into a sliding scale from 10 down to 1. Basically, my score is a reflection of two things. How a particular album compares with other albums within its genre that have been coming out in the past year or two and how strongly I feel that you should run out and buy the damn thing. You won’t ever see me give anything a 10 because I think an album needs to gain that status over time, but by giving Disintegrate a 9.5 I’m telling you that I’m as honestly impressed with and excited about this release as much as anything new I’ve heard in the death metal field over the past 12 to 18 months. I truly can’t think of one person on this website who may be reading this that wouldn’t get some enjoyment out of this album and who would regret this purchase. It’s just that damn solid. Zyklon has truly come into their own and have served notice that they are no longer Samoth’s side project but a true force in the death metal genre and one of best death bands out there. Get your hands on Disintegrate and find out for yourself.

This entry was posted by Biggus on Sunday, 14th May, 2006 at 21:07 and is filed under Reviews, Zyklon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below. You may view a   printable version of this page. You may download this page in   PDF format.