Shakespeare famously had one of his characters ask, “What’s in a name?”, suggesting that the naming of things is irrelevant. In the underground domains of metal where many of us spend our listening time, a band’s music is indeed vastly more important than the name they choose for themselves. And yet the name Typhonian is one that seizes attention, at least for some of us who are also drawn to the worlds of mythology — and monsters.
That name most prominently refers to the monstrous serpentine giant Typhon. One of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology, the hundred-headed winged creature sought to overthrow Zeus in a cataclysmic battle, but failed and was cast into deepest Tartarus, or in some accounts buried beneath Mount Etna where it subsequently caused devastating eruptions.
And so, choosing the name Typhonian inevitably sends signals (as you’ll see, so do the names chosen by the band members for themselves in their Typhonian union). But of course the music matters most, and it’s the music of the German band Typhonian that we turn to now.
Their new album (and the second in their discography overall) is entitled The Gate of the Veiled Beyond, and it’s set for release by Transcending Obscurity Records on September 20th. As a sign of what lies beyond that gate, today’s we’re premiering a song named “Towards the Chamber of the Omnipresent Mind“, which the band have presented through a video which allows us to see them in the flesh, drenched in red.
All signs so far point toward the conclusion that Typhonian intend to leave the mundane world far behind, and the music in this new song reinforces the point. Typhonian clearly know how to put the spurs to their listeners with a bracing, gut-punching death metal gallop, and with vocals that sound like a ravenous beast in full command. Consistent with their name, the riffing also swirls like serpents and veers into tremolo’d swarms and blasting torrents that sound as cruel and malign as their ancient namesake.
But where Typhonian really leave the mundane world behind is in the chilling eeriness of their melodies, a flight into the occult that begins with a wailing guitar solo launched at the 1:43 mark in the video. It sounds profoundly unearthly, and is a hint of more strangeness to come — but not before a second solo shreds the strings in exhilarating fashion.
After that a voice also wails as the music descends into Tartarus, becoming slower, darker, and more hopeless in its mood, with only another fire-bright solo to illuminate the encroaching blackness. Near the end, Typhonian put the spurs to us one last time, one last blood-rushing charge of ferocity.
We’ll share the words of Transcending Obscurity in describing the album as a whole:
Where most bands are content revelling in the sound of the glory days of early ’90s death metal, German band Typhonian have not only beautifully reimagined it with blackened elements laced with the classic Swedish/Finnish melodies, they are also attempting to take that sound ahead in the most logical manner.
Their approach being reminiscent of Edge of Sanity and their 40-minute masterwork Crimson, Typhonian are going a step further, adding more progressive and atmospheric elements, which become perceptible especially towards the end of the album, ultimately culminating in a near 20-minute epic closer.
And now, as promised, here’s the lineup:
TYPHONIAN’s Lineup:
M. W. Styrum – Vocals
Prometheus – Guitars
Typhon -Guitars, Orchestration
Charybdis – Bass
Thanatos – Drums
As usual, Transcending Obscurity is releasing The Gate of the Veiled Beyond on multiple formats — gatefold LP vinyl, 8-panel digipak CD, and digital, along with a multitude of other apparel and merch, all of it featuring the fascinating cover art for the album created by the great Juanjo Castellano.
T.O. recommends the album for fans of: Edge of Sanity, Unanimated, Necrophobic, Dismember, Dan Swanö, Desultory, and Unleashed.
Below the links we’re also including streams of two previously released songs from the album, “The Gatekeeper” and “A Glimpse At the Starless Ocean“, both of which reveal even more dimensions of Typhonian‘s musical personality, and should not be missed.
The darkness of the former is especially magnificent… and tragic… and frightening… and spellbinding. It was wise not to begin the album with that song, because it’s so stunning that it would have been tough for listeners to move past it. But that’s not intended to take anything away from “A Glimpse At the Starless Ocean“, because it too will take you to other worlds, creating other vast, haunting, and harrowing visions far from the commonplace.
PRE-ORDER:
https://typhoniandm.bandcamp.com/album/the-gate-of-the-veiled-beyond
http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
http://eu.tometal.com/
TYPHONIAN:
https://www.facebook.com/typhonianband/