Review Summary: An incredibly unique offering to D.S.B.M through the use of chaotic and claustrophobic atmospheres to the paranoia of utter silence.
In a sub-sub genre of black metal that is known for it’s monotonous entrancing riffs, Kharybdis really does bring something new to the table. And of course this is the case for pretty much all of Julian’s projects, including We are Stardust which has released maybe my favorite EP of the year. Going back to Kharybids though, Julian has created one of the most disturbing listening experiences I have ever heard. It is not noise or cavernous black metal but it really represents the deep dark machinations of the mind. Starting off with an ambient track called “Hallowed Gloom”. Though, it is an incredibly short track in it’s petite duration it manages to encompass some major themes on the release. It stays within a rather minimal range, but it this clashing chromaticism that creates this feeling of psychosis and paranoia. It feels like the inner workings of the mind spewing insults in deep brooding passion. In other words this track is lit yo. Next up is the first song of a sizable duration. This track is called “Broken Mind”. To start off the title is a perfect representation of this songs atmosphere. It carries on the same claustrophobic, densely packed yet minimalistic atmosphere with schizophrenic vocals that carry an incredibly vast dynamic range. As someone who’s had a really bad period of depression. This song is the culmination of it. To sum up my period without getting too emo or pandering, I felt so broken that i could no longer feel. All I felt was spite and this lunatic unwavering animus towards the world. I had voices in my head and among the only soothing sounds was a bullet shot. This track represents that. It goes from the mid paced stuff, which drags on just like someone’s life may with a fair range of grandiose and disgusting parts as well. One of the most jarring parts of this track is the disintegration of this guitar ostinato about halfway through the song. Julian creates this hauling riff only to kill your expectation by staying stagnant on this note halfway down (minor second). It feels disturbing and strangely enough hearkens back to the more disturbing and surreal side of animation for me such as “Salad Fingers”. All in all this track perfectly captures what it’s like to have depression and with a new spin on the sub-sub genre too. The third track is called “Gas Chamber Pt. 1”. This for me is probably the most folk influenced track on the whole album from what I gather. The song takes off with this very pastoral yet haunting and fluttering 6/8. It creates this image of the very bleak landscape of third reich concentration camps. And this track carries that theme very programmaticly too. At first, Julian has these very full distant screams only to grow more broken and mutilated as the track goes on. It feels like he is literally succumbing to asphyxiation. In these broken howls Julian also croons lyrics that feel like forgotten proverbs; my favorite of which is “To Escape the room, is to escape fate.” He is using such primal imagery yet this context just adds so much more depth to the track. Musically this track like the last one is extremely dynamic. To his great credit it was not held up by these slow droning folky parts, as he had the bravery to go through with some really drastic changes such as this cascade like blast beat towards the end of the track. The final track on the demo is “The Unending drone of time”. This is objectively the most minimalist track on the entire record but it is the use of silence which makes the track so powerful While the other tracks create these very dense claustrophobic atmospheres of psychiatric distress this track represents what is probably the last stage of depression. The silence is brooding and between every verse you just hope again to hear the voice of wraith, alive yet in extreme depression. With that said it is beautiful when the track finally lets up. The fate of this character is left pretty ambiguous and it leaves this utterly haunting spells that rides through silence long after the record let’s up. All in all this demo is an incredibly unique offering to D.S.B.M When the sub genre, is often lost in next ending riffs and extremely manichean structures; this demo creates the same feeling of longing and disastrous depression in a much more musically programmatic and impressionistic light.
