These are dark days indeed.One might think that when Eryn Non Dae. signed with Metal Blade that things might be cheerier for the lads. And, though the individual members of the band might be excited and hopeful, the music that they’ve created is anything but. Hydra Lernaia is one of those uber-dense pieces of music that portrays a world of darkness and despair, but not in the evil, satanic, boogey-man is gonna’ get ya’ kind of way. Think more along the lines of, “Gee, I have no education because my family was too poor to send me to school, but I can’t get a job to pay for further schooling because I have no education. So I guess I’ll just enlist in the military and die for a cause that I don’t believe in.” I’m not saying that the guys from Eryn Non Dae. are uneducated . . . far from it. In fact, they speak with the aged wisdom of sages, and it comes out in the music. They see what’s going on out there. They’re not fools. And they’re more than happy to spread their dark outlook to anyone who’ll take the time to listen.
Well, I listened and once I got through the initial onslaught of savagery, I found the shimmering beauty of hope interwoven within the elaborate tapestry of despondence. “Blistering Hate” is a huge slug-fest of a tune. Hammering away at the senses with distorted guitars droning away in the background, the double bass drums pound their way through the skull with all the subtlety of a New York City jack hammer. The power of this song is so intense that it’s almost too much, but then the dissonant guitars vanish and the heaviest bass rumble this side of Godflesh’s Streetcleaner steps into the forefront. Listen to the guitars as they enter slowly and methodically, adding incredible texture before the tune explodes into the earlier dissonant frenzy. As if that whole transition wasn’t bad-ass enough, the band then down shift this vehicle of devastation and enter this bizarre, almost psychedelic passage. Fuck . . . that is simply awesome! The bass goes catawampus, swirling in every crevice of the mind while the guitars add tones of texture. This song is a rollercoaster of abuse and power mixed with elements of technical beauty.
Then, as “Blistering Hate” fades away, “Existence Asleep” takes over with that overbearing bass tone that can best be attributed to the production mastery of Mobo. My God that’s heavy! This song, much like the previous tune, is packed with time changes and spastic rhythms, droning tones, and frenzied bursts of angst. There’s a great dynamic feature to pay attention to in this one as well . . . as the band powers away with a wall of sheer noise, the vocals do this great scream that fades out as the music drops back down to just the bass driven groove. It’s a little thing, I know, but it’s the kind of moment that breaks up the song, adds a unique texture and provides a ray of light in a pit of overwhelming darkness. By the time we get to the center of this album, the senses should pretty much be mush, which is the perfect time for Eryn Non Dae. to force their will on us. The instrumental “Lam Tsol Oua” is an ambient adventure that eases the listener into a state of complacency. Huge waves of textured sound cascade across a darkened backdrop, like stars in an otherwise darkened sky. The suddenly, “Through Dark Skies” bursts into a vibrant explosion of fireworks, broken up by heavy bass grooves that have a rich quality to them, rich qualities much like the feel and smell of freshly turned soil. Soil that’s damp with moisture, loamy, heavy with the reek of decomposing matter. And then, as we’re shoveling through this rich earth, we dig up a worm eaten corpse and the subsequent explosion of blast beat discordance reflects the instant surge of adrenaline through our blood stream as we turn tail and run in panic. I’m sure it’s not the theme the guys in the band are trying to pass along, but the emotion is pretty much the same. Moments of serenity torn into shreds by the sudden appearance of horror, irrational fears breaking through the barriers of the rational mind, psychological twists to toy with the common precepts of reality . . . Hydra Lernaia holds a dirty and etched mirror up to our sanity.
Each and every song on Hydra Lernaia has something special going on in it. From the palm muted guitar riffs mixed the narrative type vocals on “Opposites From Within” to the sudden down tempo break in “When Time Elapses,” Eryn Non Dae. do a great job of mixing up the emotions. It’s one thing to pummel the senses for an hour at one constant speed and one constant tone, but it’s something on another level of musicianship to shift modes mid track to challenge the listener. It’s this latter effect that has always drawn me to this form of music. I liken it to classical music where there’s always something going on, a hundred different instruments doing their own things, but working in conjunction to create a common theme. Eryn Non Dae. mix so many different sounds together to create a rich palette of sound, as dense and ominous as it may be. If you’re a fan of Neurosis but find them
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