Artist: Ysbrydnos
Title: Siant Derwyddol
Type: EP
Label: Nocturnal Curse
The mastermind behind Ysbrydnos, Ysbryd is one busy person. Quite aside from running his own label Nocturnal Curse, last year he released two black metal albums (Barrow Lord with Vass of Vassus, and Brechfa), started an excellent zine and all without even mentioning his Altar Of Moss dungeon synth activities. Now my Welsh is non-existent (fact which would have depressed my dad who taught himself Welsh simply because he loved languages) but I think Ysbrydnos translates as Night Spirit (hey I know ‘nos’ at least!) which is a fine name for Ysbryd’s solo black metal project.
This EP continues the tale which Ysbryd began on the previous EP ‘Phantasmal Bells Below The Devils Pulpit’ from 2023, one of 18th Century plague and the journey of holy men to seek aid from the old gods, but it is still a fine place to jump on and then backtrack through the Ysbrydnos hills.
In some respects this is a fairly traditional black metal sound; deep in atmosphere, harsh of vocal but there is also a wildness to it. Not in tumultuous riffs, but in the feel that the upfront vocals and the almost ebb and flow of the rhythm. Moments of instrumental melody seep into the sound here and there, that lightest of dungeon synth touches amidst the raw black metal sound of songs like ‘The Cave Beneath The Mountain’. It is also as you would expect, absolutely grown from the roots of the Welsh land and the history and folklore which Ysbryd dwells within. It is fierce in delivery, plain in the best of ways; in it’s integrity but also deceptively adept with the manner in which it weaves its melodies through guitar interludes and the placing of the. beautiful instrumental ‘Hyperborean Transmutations’.
Siant Derwyddol is a fine example of what can be found in the underground of UKBM. It sings of the land in which it was created, it has a depth of character that needs to be heard and it weaves music and story with a truly deft touch.
Thoroughly recommended. Try this and I’m sure you’ll delve into their previous work.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 