Black Metal Titans Avslut Bestow Another Black Metal Assault

Not content to rest upon their thorny bed of thrash-laden black metal, Avslut return with their second offering, Tyranni.

I first discovered Avslut by accident last year while perusing black metal tags for some gym music, and was immediately enamored with this band's delivery of tight, thrashy black metal in their album, Deceptis. Not content to rest on their laurels, Swedish metal outfit Avslut return with yet another black metal offering, tightening their visceral assault into an even sharper musical design. Tyranni (Osmosis Productions) released November 29, 2019 and I will unashamedly admit that it has remained in frequent rotation in my gym playlists.

The album's opening and titular track, Tyranni, is a peremptory exposition into what the rest of this album represents: cohesive, focused black metal. Avslut have a particular rhythmic style that is compelling; unique and yet an endearing homage to the sounds of the genre. Their presentation of this is in how they craft their songs, typified by varied thrash-laden guitar rhythms which evolve into moments of full-blown black metal assault; technical thrash rhythms give way to grandiose choruses of tremolo guitars and minimal synth choirs for added breadth all while being driven by unrelenting drums.

Add to this an expert mix (Recorded, mixed & mastered at Wings Studios, Sweden), not overly compressed, yet not obtuse and amateurish - this is a showcase for modern black metal production.

Tyranni stays at a constant and varied aural assault assault of brutality and technical thrash precision, only moderatly slowing for the introduction to the track, “Pestens Lärjungar”, and the grandiose chorus for the following song, “Dråp”, which is quickly transmuted into a tightly-hewn black metal finale, “Andlost Slaveri”. The album's lyrics are delivered in their native tongue, and the vocal quality lends well to the mix of the black metal production, which are throat-tearing gargoyle roars, and never distracting.

This was absolutely one of the best releases in 2019, and if you have not listened to Avslut, you should. Tyranni is available via Osmosis Productions. Avslut can also be found on Facebook.