Entry 307 - Bythos - The Womb of Zero

 

I picked this record up blindly when it first came out. Had it on the table for a bit of time then forgot about it. I pulled it out tonight because I remember this being rather competent melodic black metal.

Bythos do indeed play a highly melodic form of black metal. Most of the music is carried out with guitar, bass, and drums. There are very infrequent keyboards that are used, and even when they are used it's more like an accent to the music rather than the dominating force.

The Womb of Zero does not start off well, the first track is arguably one of the weakest on the album. At first I thought that my memory of the album was completely off, because quite frankly the music was neither good nor melodic. It was simply mid paced black metal that sounded incredibly dull.

The second track reminded me quite quickly why the band made such a good impression on me. The guitar lead cuts through the air like a razor sharp knife, it demands to be heard. It's simple, but the way its executed is just... chef's kiss.

This then is the nature of Bythos... on one hand they have the capability to be incredibly middling black metal... but when everything comes together as it does throughout the album they are completely unstoppable. I hope with their next effort they are able to focus more on the excellent melodies and less on the boring sections of the music.