Originally written by Jeremy Garner
Closely following the March release of their live DVD Storm Detonation, Zyklon have brought us Disintegrate, their highly anticipated third full length and follow-up album to 2003’s Aeon, one that undeniably made more than a few fans and critics’ end of the year lists. Yet somehow despite my own personal love affair with Emperor and my overall affection for the genre, Zyklon’s material never really grabs me by the balls, seeming a bit drab and unfocused, until now.
While their blackened debut album World Ov Worms and their second powerful but slightly lackluster full length Aeon were two completely different beasts altogether (with the former relying heavily on black metal foundations and the latter focusing on a viciously throwback style of death metal album not too distant from the rumblings of US death metal legends Morbid Angel), with Disintegrate things seem to finally be falling into place here. Zyklon seem to have found the final incarnation of their sound within their myriad expressions of extreme metal settling primarily on a vitriolic whirlwind of pummeling death metal with the inclusion of ferocious black metal overtones.
The air of professionalism found on Disintegrate is one hardly rivaled and one that has few peers. With the excellently full and clear production via Fredrik Nordström (Fredman Studios) excellent mixing job and the involvement of ThorbjØrn Akkerhaugen (Akkerhaugen Studios), the songs have gained a tremendous level of punch and clinical precision that still manages to maintain a high level of brutality and capture the sheer aggressive intensity displayed by each musician.
Bassist/vocalist Secthdamon’s (Myrkskog) tri-vocal attack is at top performance from scathing black metal rasps, to gruff as hell barks, to his unique half-distorted vocals. Trym’s diverse drumming hammers its way through Disintegrate without abandon, continuing his tradition as an immensely crucial part of the rampaging path of destruction that is Zyklon’s sound. Samoth’s dual barrage of wickedly fast tremolo picking on songs like “In Hindsight” and the demolishing, high velocity “Vile Ritual” is offset by the razor sharp triplets of “Wretched” interspersed with sections of churning discordance and mid-tempo groove. The more mid paced crushing rumblings of “Ways of the World” along with the harsh black metal of the apocalyptic “A Cold Grave” brings the dissonant experimentation to the forefront. All these multifarious veneers coalesce to make the bulk of the ominous monolith of Zyklon.
Also, ever since the inclusion of lead guitarist Destructhor (Myrkskog) the band has received a pleasant kick in the ass in the form of his deftly executed and well placed solos, weaving fluidly over Samoth with his heavily melodic lead work. The sheer intrinsic level of talent and sophistication within Zyklon’s music is their ability on this album at creating a technically varied and intense expression of nuanced complexity. The experimental moments like that of “Skinned and Endangered” prove these Norwegians have more than just a few tricks up their sleeves.
However, despite its high level of quality, Disintegrate is not quite an album of classic proportions due to the slightly unrevolutionary nature of their sound granted Zyklon manage to play this style the way it was meant to be done. With an album of these proportions, Zyklon have cemented themselves as not only the most accomplished and most revered post-Emperor extreme metal outfit, but as full blown death metal juggernauts – distinctively lethal and destructive forces unto themselves.
