Lycanthia - Within theWalls (EP)

Mon 7th May, 2007 in Music Reviews

This EP is such a pleasure to listen to. High production values, excellent mixing, and a wonderful balance have been achieved, and I hope that Lycanthia are happy with the result. For those who are not familiar with Lycanthia, they are a local metal group hailing from Parramatta. They play dark, aggressive metal that, as they so aptly put it, is best described as a blend of Doom, Gothic, Classical and Rock. Given that this EP makes me think of Turn Loose the Swans-era My Dying Bride, but more up-beat, I have to concur.

Within the Walls showcases Sabine Linfoot’s magnificent vocal ability without sacrificing the character of the band’s overall sound. Often, bands with female vocals of this calibre fail to maintain a character balance with other vocalists and musicians, with everyone else jarring with the beauty of it. Lycanthia, on this EP, manage to walk this fine line with finesse, making it appear easy to do. On Within the Walls, the vocals of Lee Tasker are very similar to Lunatic Gods’ vocalist Horar on the band’s 2004 album Mythus. The beauty of Tasker’s vocals is that they have enough character to walk in concert with Linfoot’s; and the beauty of the band is that the rest of the sound is utterly supportive of this union.

It is a tribute to how tight this band is and the sound of Within the Walls, and a measure of the perceived calibre of Australian metal as a whole, that people who have listened to this production with me were surprised to find out that Lycanthia are locals! It is also a tribute to the band that every person who has heard this EP has vowed to go to the next Lycanthia show they can get to. I can’t recommend this EP enough—buy it, trade it, do what you have to. You won’t be disappointed.