Album Review: Typhonian - The Gate of the Veiled Beyond
Reviewed by Sam Jones
We’re careening our eyes towards German today, for the band under the spotlight is Typhonian as they prepare to unleash their second full length album, the illustriously titled The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond. Formed in 2017 and hailing from the region of Baden-Württemberg, Typhonian may not have released that much throughout their career as of yet but it’s already earned them a signing with Transcending Obscurity Records as per this record’s release. The band’s first full length album, Beneath The Streams Of Life, was released in 2018 via independent means and would be the band’s sole release prior to their 2021 EP, The Cosmic Pendulum Of Time, which I realised not long ago was actually my first exposure to the band. Another three years have since elapsed and the band are looking to release this second album of theirs upon the metal world. Drawn to this record firstly through the artwork, the credit belongs to Spanish artist Juanjo Castellano whose artwork has also been used for Abominated, Deteriorot, Obscure Infinity and many more. So, we begin our delve into The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond, slated for a September 15th release date through Transcending Obscurity Records.
I always appreciate it when bands ensure their records are well polished, it demonstrates a pride taken in their songwriting. Such is the instance with Typhonian, though the band may be throwing a slew of bass drums and furious vocals at us their soundscape never rises so intensely that we can’t determine what is happening at any given moment. Whilst this kind of polished production isn’t anything new in modern death metal, it really works for Typhonian’s approach to their music since the less muddy production lets the smaller niceties of their soundscape come to the foreground and so the audience will receive a far more potent understanding of what the band’s vibe are all about rather than merely what’s at surface level alone. It also aids the band in the fact that their assault isn’t constant; Typhonian’s style of extreme metal really gives us the room to breathe and experience all the minute details they’ve put into their songwriting. A rougher and coarse approach to production would have heavily lessened the band’s ability to infer these more specific details to us, aiding to elevate the band from simply another death metal act to one worth watching out for.
We touched upon briefly how Typhonian really want us to revel in the smaller niceties their songwriting has to offer; it’s evident from the start that Typhonian haven’t gone into this record to create another cookie cutter death metal record, wishing to create extreme metal that stands above the genre’s rank and file. This is far from one blast beat or strummed riff after another for while the band do employ power and strength at every turn this record takes, this album is riddled with sequences that break the pace, take us down differing avenues of songwriting etc. for the most part, The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond is surprisingly old school since the band appear to forgo many aspects synonymous with modern death metal; Typhonian never try and subjugate you nor are your senses ever at risk of feeling overwhelmed. Such an approach would diminish your ability to experience that the band have to offer and I knew I had no problems at all in deciphering every small detail they throw out for me. There are even select melodic moments too but they haven’t been incorporated into the songwriting to craft anything overtly lofty; these moments are used to take us down those other avenues of songwriting where the pace slows. Arguably it’s in these moments the band’s identity truly takes shape and are fundamentally removed from the myriad of extreme metal bands they will no doubt be placed against.
It’s curious how the band are able to embody the very definition of power and speed without their songwriting nor pacing necessarily being the epitome of such. It’s been noted that the band didn’t want to create something overwhelming for the audience, they wanted us to feel every single iota they could impart and, in this case, that seems to slowing the pace down. Speed is naturally a given in extreme metal but sometimes it may backfire since a band’s insistence on rapidity can cause their songwriting lose agency and thus lose impact in the performance. I can say without a doubt that Typhonian can write long tracks (as we’ll soon cover) at a pretty median pace, picking up the tempo here and there, but forever maintain the same level of impact and energy than they would have at the start. Since the band are vying for an old school style of death metal, it actually works in their favour to bring their songwriting to a gradual pacing since a hyper-racing style of tempo wouldn’t have worked for what their songwriting was demanding. With a steadier pacing, the band are able to unload the full might of their soundscape without interruption, without pressure, with all the time they wish to put into their music.
The final track deserves its own mention. Spanning almost twenty minutes long, on a record fifty minutes overall, this final title track is more than a third of the record’s collective runtime; when a song such as this is left for the end, you want to be damned certain the band have confidence in themselves to pull this off and as well as the ability to send their record off with a mighty bang. But this is it, the entire album has leading towards this epic closer and in doing so Typhonian throw everything they have at us; consisting of elements we’ve been exposed to all throughout the album, the band bring everything together for a final send off. Perhaps across this track more than any other, we receive the full brunt of their mystical edge, as a slight symphonic style can be discerned yet it’s hardly in our faces, instead reserved for the far edges of the record to craft this elusive, ethereal quality. We’ve seen this side of the band once or twice throughout the record but it’s in the final piece that it truly comes to the forefront. This last track also exemplifies Typhonian’s astounding control of pacing too, for you can be five or ten minutes into it and not realise you are. It’s such a comfortable piece to listen to when you know you’ve still got so much more to experience before the record finally ends. I haven’t seen a band command pace and songwriting this maturely since Blood Incantation. But you can’t write a near twenty minute track without the songwriting changing things up, happily the band do precisely that. There are numerous sequences here where the songwriting evolves whether through soloing, changes in riffs, employing these ethereal pieces into the songwriting etc. There’s even the band’s sole use of clean vocals too but it’s done in a way that amplifies the band’s serene quality of songwriting. This closing work isn’t played to devastate but to intoxicate us into the allure of their soundscape. It’s a truly towering opus.
In conclusion, Typhonian’s second full length album is a huge success as the band take us down such a winding path of songwriting and aesthetic before climaxing with an astonishing conclusion that will surely put the band on many people’s radars for some time to come. The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond is a sweeping record that will entertain and enthral you for its full runtime, and though it may be encroaching on an hour long, you’ll be in no way dubious that they can keep you engaged for every ensuing second of that runtime. So many right decisions were made regarding this record from the polished production to the track progressions to the riffs to the choice of old school songwriting etc, and it all melds together seamlessly. This is a ludicrously well written and composed record that never wastes your time and is simply a joy to experience. Typhonian are now a band I really want to keep my eyes open for and The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond truly deserves as many fans new and old as it does. It truly is a sublime listen.
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