Thegn - Silver Blade, Shattered Mirror. Deceiver.
Thegn are a small suite from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Their debut, Silver Blade, Shattered Mirror. Deceiver., is all style over substance, with moments of brilliance. Deriving from bands such as Health, Thegn arrange frenzied tribal beats with cutting-edge industrial-rock; it’s a shame this sound has been explored before already, since they do a pretty good job.
Silver Blade exceeds at its nauseating and harrowing atmosphere, though lacks substance as it relies on flat percussion. Shattered Mirror has some great progressive moments, though can’t help but feel like a standard dance track with a deceiving lick of paint. Thankfully, the sound scapes explored toward the end are gorgeously alluring and well worth the wait. Lastly, Deceiver starts off sounding like an obnoxious Death Grips knock-off, but evolves into something rather grand and magnificent. The song is truly majestic and captivating; had the rest of the album been on the same level, it would have been incredibly easy to recommend.
There are certainly great aspects to Silver Blade, Shattered Mirror. Deceiver. Thegn’s vocal delivery is quite admirable and fitting to the soundscapes. The production is far beyond average; the use of space is exceptional, as is the accompanying synth work. Most notably, however; are the long song structures. It’s rather refreshing to see many of these ideas expanded upon, albeit being rather unoriginal. Nonetheless, no matter how much of a write-up you pair with your work, the message is only as meaningful as the listener decides. Far too much detail has gone into the lyricism and “meaning” of the work, though sonically it’s rather baron of ideas. While its production is incredibly slick and venerable, the polish only accentuates its simplicity. One can only hope Thegn utilise their bank next time to produce something more original.
Above Average
Listen to it here:
https://soundcloud.com/eternal100000000/sets/thegn-silver-blade-shattered-mirror-deceiver
Thegn - Silver Blade, Shattered Mirror. Deceiver.
