Exiled From Light

There Is No Beauty Left Here

Hypnotic Dirge Records 2010

The Sophomore effort from New Zealand's one-man lord of depression, Exiled From Light is a two disk set comprised of six new compositions as well as three from Exiled From Light's predecessor, Funereal.  To open this epic funeral procession is We Writhe As Worms.  Clean guitar and haunting synth float towards swelling black metal riffs creating a fog of suicidal depression.  Ghostly shrieking vocals lurk like a ghost in the mist, distant like a fading memory.  Trembling melodies, like fingers caressing a razor, create an atmosphere of apprehension on The Bitter Taste of Tears.  The song, even when cresting black metal riffing and surging drums rise, exhales sorrow so moist that it coats and clings to every note.  Clean guitar, reminiscent of something you might encounter on Katatonia's Brave Murder Day gets Clarity View Through Dying Eyes underway.  A sharp melodic lead paints the sadness before repetitive black metal riffing is ushered in, like a gust of cold air.  As with the songs that came before it, Faded Are my Memories begins with melancholic guitarwork which awakens a chilling memory of Burzum-ish riffing.  Slowly shifting synth forms a pulse of depression, pumping through the track's hypnotic system, covering it with a forlorn oppressive blanket which smothers all hopes.  The title-track brings the Exiled From Light portion of the album to an end.  It slowly drifts along, like a slumbering victim, before crying out in agony, black metal riffs bursting like blood from sliced veins.  The three Funereal tracks are up next and deviate, not at all from the emotional and stylistic formula of the previous compositions, though the vocals are deeper, deathlier in tone.  They sound as if the singers throat were made of stone and being scraped by boulders.  One thing though, the tracks are significantly shorter and therefore more compact in their delivery.  A Dream In Illusion concentrates slightly more on pronounced keys and despairing melodies.  Thick doomy riffs lend a more traditional feeling to Of That Which Lies Beneath.  Deep riffs of doomy death crush the listener under their sheer weight.   The final gasp of hope-smashing metal is Through Twilight.  It sticks much closer stylistically to Exiled From Light's clean guitar and foggy riffing than the previous two tracks.  On There is No Beauty Left Here, Exiled From Light once again crafts a blade of cold and merciless depression.  The morose quality of the album is unrelenting and permeates your mind, stamping out all flickering flames of joy.