Lycus - Chasms

The magnificent Lycus from Oakland, California brings forth their second full length release entitled, “Chasms”. Ever since they released their second Demo, “MMXI” with the upper half of a decaying horse corpse on the cover, they’ve caught our attention. In a time where everyone had similar aesthetics with certain symbols or the continuous use of the goat and or baphomet image. Which ever word choice you prefer. It captured your attention seeing a skull of what looks to be a horse or lama. Simply put this is life and the decay there of. It was also refreshing to hear Lycus bring a different approach to the doom genre. Music isn’t about following trends or a formula. It’s about deep self expression and or catharsis. Lycus never disappoints and “Chasms” continues to prove that.

Right from the beginning of the first track, “Solar Chamber” you can hear more of a funeral doom aspect of the sound. Doom isn’t always about how crushing the guitar and bass tone is. Doom such as this can involve numerous eclectic aspects that create a more unique and original landscape. The track starts off with some downtrodden clean vocals giving it that funeral doom glaze along with the less drawn out guitar riffs. The guitars are focused more on groove and melody while still incorporating the raw drawn out shutter of Doom. The vocalist switches between three different vocal styles here. One is a clean low voice, a mid ranged distressed and a deep growl. This adds to the dynamics of the track. The drummer incorporates blast beats and double bass as well. This is extremely difficult to pull off. Although Lycus seamlessly goes in and out of transitions while taking the song in a different direction and still retaining the root of the cadence. They’ve always had immaculate crushing guitar tone and right from the beginning of ”Chasms” we can hear that. Next is the title track which is raw, eviscerating and brutal as all hell. The guitar player adds another dimension to the song structure by having a more straight forward punk influenced drive to the rhythm. Amazing lead guitar harmonies and the awesome strings towards the end add an extra gloomy quality to the sound. “Mirage”, is a dreamy sounding track at times which reminds me of Tool. This is a nice break in tension after the first two mind numbingly destructive tracks. This track is swimming in melody with glimpses of heavy sections. A mirage is something you see but isn’t real. This is a cool title for this track. At times you’re unsure which direction the music is going. Somewhat like the confusion of being unsure if you’re seeing a mirage or something real. In times of desperation to survive we become confused or mislead by our reality. It’s these moments we must remain calm, steadfast, and rock solid. The vocals in Lycus are the concrete certification that we will not be held down and we shall continue to trudge towards what seems like a mirage. Considering our current status is in utter despair and even the failure to come across a glimmer of hope would be better than remaining still and stagnant. “Obsidian Eyes”, is a nice death doom metal track with heavy slow grooves. Sounds like the departure of an ancient behemoth moving on towards new territory after having his entire family slaughtered. The lead here is so well written. The wonderful melody on this record is quite a nice recurring theme. Although all the lead melodies have their own cadence to them so as to not have the whole album run together. The melody in, “Obsidian Eyes” makes you drift off into your own memories that can possibly be related to similar pains and hardships that the members of Lycus have struggled through.

“Chasms”, doesn’t sound depressing like most doom. Yet is seems more dreary and dismal. Depression is more of an individual concept and or feeling. Where as something being dreary and dismal could also be an overall world view or outlook on a specific landscape. The horizons have been broadened to say the least. This record gives me the imagery of an individual trudging through life with no hope and continues to barely lift his head up to make sure he doesn’t stray from his path. This person is in so much despair that he’s unconcerned if he becomes lost or not because he is already beyond lost within the immediacy of his current life. Quite the doom masterpiece composition. It’s impressive to hear how this bands sound has grown since their first demo. There is a lot to be said for staying solid and retaining the fortitude through hardships. The strong vocals over the dismal guitars, gives the listenerinspiration to continue on no matter what the circumstances. Beyond a new levelof perseverance… Lycus.


  1. Solar Chamber
  2. Chasms
  3. Mirage
  4. Obsidian Eyes