Album Review: Phrenelith - Chimaera
Reviewed by Sam Jones
At long last, four years following on from Phrenelith’s storming studio debut, the band give us their long-awaited sophomore release titled simply as Chimaera. To say I was anticipating this eventual record would be an understatement for along with Hyperdontia’s newest release, this was one of my most awaited and exciting upcoming release out of the Danish extreme metal scene. But how did Phrenelith begin? We actually have to go all the way back to 2013 and the Danish capital, Copenhagen, where members David Buch Mikkelsen and Simon Daniel Larsen came together to form a disgusting band. At the time, these guys were members of bands like Mold, Realm Of Chaos and eventually Mikkelsen would also find himself a member of Danish underground giants Undergang and for a time additionally in Hyperdontia too, so there was certainly a vitality and power to this newly formed group that was worth taking seriously. Their first 2017 debut album, Desolate Endscape, was extraordinary and wound up on many people’s top album lists for that respective year. Since then, eyes have been constantly trained on Denmark to see what else will follow suit. With Undergang’s vile 2020 release and Hyperdontia’s extremely recent Hideous Entity release, it was the perfect opportunity for Phrenelith to flex themselves once more. So, does this album live up to that staggering debut? Let’s delve in and find out.
Straight off the bat Phrenelith demonstrate why their sound was so revered upon the release of Desolate Endscape several years ago. If you pay attention to the album’s background, you’ll pick up on how the bass is completely present for a respective track’s full duration however it never tries to break out of its position. It’s evident from the start that the band’s mixing has a rather exact formation where each section of the band has its own placing yet, the bass seems to become that rounded shape which the rest of the band’s performance manages to bounce off from. As a result, the band craft a soundscape that never feels too big where the sound could escape us, nor does it feel boxed in with a production that’s too rigid. Phrenelith have given us an atmosphere that feels simultaneously pounding yet strangely membranous, it’s as if you could crush your fist straight into its walls and still feel the reverb as the exterior absorbs your impact. The band have once again delivered an aesthetic that’s impactful without being a detriment on our senses.
Carrying on from this I’ve always appreciated what Phrenelith have managed to do via their guitar work. Much like their production the riffs herein are the kind that don’t strike you head on but seem to attack everything that is surrounding you. The band don’t go for a blistering and deafening onslaught, the album does not possess a striking, head-on aesthetic. You’ll be fully able to take in every riff and drum strike and vocal performance the band throw at you, but the riffs have this curiously restrained nature to them. It’s not done to deliberately hold back their power, if anything it actually amplifies them because power traditionally injected into the impact has instead been transferred to an oozing, underlaying style where the riffs aren’t coming straight on. They are in fact coming at you from the left, the right, from behind, beneath you etc. Instead of the riffs assuming a straight, to the point form Chimaera sees the riffs take on a spherical shape instead which is what enables the riffs to feel as total and formed as they do without the band having to hunker down on pure crushing power alone.
The mixing is what initially really drew people to Phrenelith, the aforementioned Desolate Endscape is a prime example as to why the band blew up as quickly as they did putting Danish death metal on the map. However, the band once more demonstrate why this mixing style and soundscape works so well for death metal. We’ve touched upon already how the band’s riffs don’t seek to strike us head-on, how they’re implemented for a more cacophonous and totally absorbing grasp of our attention. The band have maintained the atmospheric and dark natures of their instrumentation whilst actually lightening the overall production of their sound. What this means is that the actual album production has less murk and grime associated with its sonic performance so what the band want to portray throughout their performance they can do so with fewer technical and mixing obstacles in their way. It really makes a difference, enabling the band to get their point and desired impact across with much greater ease than if the band had doubled down with just as much a brooding soundscape as so many other bands have done so. But by lessening their grip on their evil it actually allows it to come across with far great vigour and tenacity. It’s the equivalent of finally letting the sound move through an open hand after years of holding a clenched fist; sure, the tension held within promises brute power and ferocity but sometimes you can get a clearer and more realised portrait of what you want by simply letting go of self-created restraints. In an analogy, that’s what Phrenelith do.
Much like their debut record, Chimaera is an astoundingly easy album to listen to. It’s not simply down to the kind of songwriting or riffs or production we’ve already touched upon either, I think it’s also down to how Phrenelith managed to structure their record here. They’ve got a longer track at the very start and very end of the record, so they’ve effectively bookmarked it. Then between those significant pieces, the album has several much smaller tracks to populate its runtime. What I respect is that even though one or two tracks here are barely two minutes long, the band don’t just use them for speed marathons. The same level of thought and care they would use for their lengthier tracks has also been applied to their far smaller pieces too so no matter where you are throughout the album, you’ll still be experiencing the same quality from start to end. As a result, when that final track plays out for you it isn’t some brooding and trepidatious piece but something you’ll be keenly looking forward to because you know precisely what to expect and trust the band to pull through for you.
In conclusion, it needs to be said that while Chimaera is a pounding and quality album, I do not believe it outshines Desolate Endscape. There are several highlights for Phrenelith to boast about here however on the whole the record just falls short of the mark their debut work gave us. I actually feel like if one or two tracks were a little more developed with some slightly longer runtimes or even a few more songs included, the album might stick just a little surer and more firmly in our minds. But that’s not to dub this a bad album because it isn’t by any means, it has the unfortunate fortune of being overshadowed by an extraordinary debut album which truly wowed a lot of people upon its release. But I think this album will be a grower on people, it may not dazzle straight away but time will actually give it the staying power it sorely needs. All in all, I’m glad to have finally heard Phrenelith’s follow up record and continue to be curious for what they may do next.
