The words monolithic and massive are often applied to metal albums that are exceptionally heavy. There are times though where those words just don't seem like quite enough to describe how incredibly crushing an album is... Exhibit A for such an album is Tryptikon's debut album.
Calling this a debut is a bit disingenuous. This is essentially the second birth of Celtic Frost and the style that was conjured on Monothiest. While the two albums are quite similar in scope there are some notable differences, and Eparistera Daimones is more than capable of standing on its own.
Tryptikon is equal parts doom metal, noise, feedback, black metal, and a putrid pile of muck. The guitar tone that they managed to produce on this album is one of the most distinctive I've heard in many years. It's instantly recognizable by its harrowing low drone... and god damn is it effective.
The opener is one of my favorites off the album. It goes through several movements, each demonstrating a different side of the band. Starting with a few strummed chords on a semi distorted guitar it slowly builds into a powerful riff driven by a quick drum beat. Tom's vocals soon join in and they are filled with more venom than pretty much any other point in his career. From here it weaves in and out of crushing dissonance, feedback driven chants, layered vocals, and a lament to the lies of mankind.... its incredible.
The band largely stays in this feedback driven doom for most of the album ranging from slow to nearly thrash speeds in tempo. Towards the end of the album though the band begins to experiment a bit. Both Myopic Empire and My Pain show the band branching out in different directions. Myopic Empire features a piano throughout its playtime and My Pain hearkens back to the ambient experimentation of early Celtic Frost complete with female vocals.
When I heard that Tom had left Celtic Frost I was worried about the future of the band. Tryptikon has proven to be more than a suitable stand in for the legendary Swiss band... and Eparistera Daimones carries that legacy forward with abandon.
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