{"id":55828,"date":"2017-03-17T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T00:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=55828"},"modified":"2017-05-14T00:12:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T00:12:57","slug":"album-review-lantern-ii-morphosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-lantern-ii-morphosis\/","title":{"rendered":"LANTERN – II: Morphosis (2017) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LANTERN
II: Morphosis<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nDark Descent (2017)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Brace yourself for another dank venture into the sordid underground world occupied by Finnish chaos-mongers Lantern. Four years have passed since the band coughed up 2013\u2019s debut Below<\/em><\/a>, and what a fine, grating nightmare that was. And here we are again, treated to another cold, harsh dose of what many would describe as blackened death metal. But the reality is that Lantern churn out a disconcerting brand of unnerving extreme metal \u2013 something cold, bleak and esoteric as well as cavernous, obscure and macabre.<\/p>\n

This time round there\u2019s still that musty air which permeates the busy guitar sound \u2013 Lantern offering up an interesting macabre mishmash of discordant black metal passages mixed with darkly melodic dissonant death metal oddness. Whether bursting out a rapid frost of Scandinavian evil or stabbing the ears with a Morbid Angel-inspired onslaught, there\u2019s always much to savour within the grim, bitter framework of Lantern\u2019s cacophony.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s really compelling on this second outing, however, are those more frequent nods to classic death metal; more so in the vocals where the likes of, say, Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel) or Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) are conjured. But the vocals merely act as gnarled, grim expressions over that tight wall of melancholy aggression, evident in the likes of the concise \u2018Hosting Yellow Fungi\u2019 with its battering ram approach implementing blackened, frost-bitten guitar grates coupled with unholy death metal threads.<\/p>\n

The slower passages are delivered with harsh vocal barks to accompany them, hinting at a more measured approach from the creepy duo \u2013 again evident with the catchy, crunchy opening chords of \u2018Cleansing Of The Air\u2019, where the percussion rumbles with ominous ability before the pace quickens to a whipping old school death metal crush. <\/p>\n

Some may argue that this new offering is more modernised in its approach, but it\u2019s simply the sound of a band evolving. Whereas the debut belonged in the same fetid swamps of classic Celtic Frost and the likes, II: Morphosis<\/em> takes the old school feel but heaps bucket loads of progressive thinking on top. And it\u2019s still very much Lantern in its art, with a pinching blast of nocturnal air constructed on intricate rhythms and thrashier balancing.<\/p>\n

Those seeking speedier climes will revel in \u2018Transmigration\u2019, while fans of a mouldier, doomier atmosphere will enjoy the gloom-laden \u2018Virgin Damnation\u2019. Elsewhere, tracks such as opener \u2018Black Miasma\u2019 or the instrumental \u2018Necrotic Epiphanies\u2019 blend varying styles; assembling looser, grindier segments with progressive leans and then well-balanced, progressive strains.<\/p>\n

The mournful hue is always present, however, Lantern still sounding like some thrashing titan awakening from its nocturnal dungeon and whacking its frustrated limbs against those ancient walls. But when this leviathan fully breaks free, don\u2019t be surprised if this Finnish posse slips off into other unchartered waters, as one always gets the feeling that within their skeletal frame that Lantern is not a beast willing to stick to boundaries.<\/p>\n

The black metal filter by which death metal tumult is clearly sieved is there for all to hear, but as every one of Necrophilos\u2019 hoarse wails echoes around the brain, one cannot help feel that hidden away, in some further, far-flung abode there is another Lantern monster waiting to be born and to defy the odds of extreme metal. II: Morphosis<\/em>, however, suggests a band not quite there yet. But with Cruciatus behind such bewitching alchemy, it\u2019s surely only a matter of time before Lantern rule the roost.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANTERNII: Morphosis Dark Descent (2017)Rating: 8\/10 Brace yourself for another dank venture into the sordid underground world occupied by Finnish chaos-mongers Lantern. Four years have passed since the band coughed up 2013\u2019s debut Below, and what a fine, grating nightmare that was. And here we are again, treated to another cold, harsh dose of what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lantern"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55828"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55830,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55828\/revisions\/55830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}