Llyr - For Death's The Only Victor

At the centre of the Universe of Ubiquitous Hurt is a church. Sitting on the pews are a congregation, gathered to pray upon the souls of 3000 men, all slain by Drugoth and Shograath, who swore an oath at birth to slay all that comes in the way of True Udon Black Metal. Christbane delivers a faith desecration sermon to the congregation. Among them is a woman named Llyr, and she refuses to weep, for she, herself, has been called upon to let True Udon Black Metal into her heart. An old man named Nocturnal Effigy plays a pipe organ, and it is dripping with blood. Llyr has a deranged son named WRÆCK, who is hiding in the shadows of a cross, tattooing a curse upon an angel’s forehead. Beneath the floorboards of the church are a coven of vampires, and their leader, Celestial Sword, swings an axe at the the trapdoor, which leads to the congregation above. With his foot on the trapdoor is Matt Priso, as he paints it all using the blood of the SIK, the Spells Ov The Tormented, and the Conspiracies of the X. This is the Universe of Ubiquitous Hurt.

Fenriz virtually played the same drum beat on the whole Transilvanian Hunger album. It was a feeling and emotion that he was going for, and which he successfully captured on that album. Repetition and monotonous notes, rhythms and structures work well in Black Metal, because when done effectively, like Burzum as well, repetition can change the way the listener interprets the music. The listeners brain activity can change. The anticipation moves the brain from thinking and analysing to feeling and connecting with the messages or atmosphere. Llyr uses these techniques very well.

Llyr is joined by Drugoth, who plays the drums. It is the same duo in Christbane, but Llyr has a stronger focus on Black Metal. For Death’s The Only Victor is Llyr’s first full length, and it follows the mini album/EP from 2023, Through Blood and Fire Where Chaos Reigns.

For Death’s The Only Victor has a raw and distorted production, deliberately lo-fi, but you feel strangely incubated by its tones. While still abrasive, it does sound richer than the EP, louder as well, and more colour has been extracted during the mastering of the album. I wouldn’t describe it as warm, but it has a hypnotic and mesmerising quality to it. Being 6 songs over 38 minutes, its duration and structure allows you to be immersed, but never lost, and the songs are over before you become bored. Llyr also makes slight deviations within the songs, whether that is a change in the riff, the drum beat, vocal or just the overall pace.

The subtle changes within the mix should be appreciated here. The vocals are pushed forward a little in “Duty Grants No Favour Nor Retreat,” which ups the aggression, and the guitar muscle is clearly flexed in "May The Hurt be Felt by All.” Overall though, everything has been mixed quite evenly, which contributes to that consistent feeling and atmosphere that flows through the album.

A gothic Pete Steele like tone is layered over a Black Metal vocal towards the end of opening song, “Neath Silver Light of The Waning Moon.” The guitar before that section is moving and emotional, so the vocals work very well to add depth to that feeling. “May The Hurt be Felt by All” has an amazing chainsaw like guitar tone, and there is an extra oomph to the song that cuts through nicely after the atmospheric opening to the album.

I really like the change in pace on “A Storm of Grievous Wounds.” The song means business, and you can bathe in its bath of reverb. The drum symbols are really in synch with the piercing guitar tone here as well, and there is a bit of extra low end to this song, adding to the brooding mood. Drugoth puts a great deal of care into his drumming. Everything he does benefits what Llyr is trying to achieve, and he does it without sounding flashy or individualistic. The final song, and the brilliant, “The Hour of Cessation” has a Transilvanian Hunger feel to it, and it could have easily fitted in after "Over fjell og gjennom torner.”

For Death’s The Only Victor  is an amazing album. Killer addition to the Universe of Ubiquitous Hurt, and to the Rolling Top Ten of 2024. I get the feeling that there may be 2 or 3 of these bands that are in the Ten come the end of December.