Strychnos – Armageddon Patronage

Armageddon Patronage is the second full-length from Copenhagen’s trio going under the moniker of Strychnos. The band was originally formed back in 1998, but things were pretty quiet in the Strychnos camp for many years. It changed with the release of their debut A Mother’s Curse, released two years ago. Now Copenhagen’s purveyors of ‘accursed death’ are back with their second full-length, entitled Armageddon Patronage. This sophomore eight-tracker, released via Dark Descent Records, was produced and mixed by Lasse Ballade at Copenhagen’s ‘Ballade Studios’ (Afsky, Slægt, Solbrud…) and mastered by none other than Necromorbus’ infamous Tore Stjerna. I think the final result sounds as a generally fine-grained production.

This new opus showcases a natural continuation of what A Mother’s Curse began, where the trio seeks to refine the key elements from the aforementioned debut, in ways of both aggression and atmosphere, with more atmospherics, alternative instrumentatation, and excellent melodies, while always pushing the boundaries of extreme metal. It’s especially emphasized in a song titled “Endless Void Dimension”, due to its primary focus on catchy melodies and doom elements. It’s also a quite lengthy epic track, as it’s more than seven-minute-long. It starts with this almost science fiction dreamy introduction, before first clean vocals, and a guest appearance by Michael Poulsen (Volbeat & Dominus), takes over.

“Winds Warning the Final Storm” is the opening short intro track with dark atmospheric moods. One can say that this opening song gives the listener a false sense of security as to what is to come next. Album’ self-titled track “Armageddon Patronage“ is quite different, much heavier and harder than its predecessor. It features some furiously down-picked guitars, pummeling drum fills with insane blast beats, and angry, hellish and demonic vocals from the lead vocalist, Martin Leth Andersen. Furthemore it has numerous tempo shifts, from mid-tempo riff fests to slower sections, and a well-placed shredding solo. “Choking Salvation” is the next song where the band returns to the slower pace with bleak atmosphere, clean backing vocals and a haunting background screams. Esp. the closing part of the song sounds powerful. Then follows the aforementioned, a superbly bleak and dark lengthy piece, “Endless Void Dimension”.

“Pale Black Birds” opens with the sound of bird calls melding with haunting guitars, heavy riffs joined by raw vocals, some clever leadwork, and again this prominent, masmerizing and yet dark atmosphere. On a different scale we have the following “Stanken Af Dyd” (The Stench Of Virtue), which opens with pounding rhythms, searing raw vocals and hypnotic blackened riffs. It’s a complex song with few different layers, but after a few spins, I can say now that it’s my album favourite! “Sweeping Storm Of Suicide” is a nice short track with some orchestral moments where the band brings in a fresh instrumentation and some crispy blast beats in particular. Album’s grand-finale comes with the closing “Nattevandrerinden” (The Night Wanderer), being dark and haunting both in its approach and delivery, esp. for soaring raw vocals and the bursts of blackened riffing, again contrasted by quieter segments. Through the second half of the song we can still hear these blackened riffs, but this time they’re overlaid with a spoken elements before the final fade out. What an impressive way to close this 43 minutes long opus!

In conclusion; band’s line-up Andreas Lynge (guitars and backing vocals), Martin Leth Andersen (bass and lead vocals) and Nis Rode Larsen (drums) are complementing each other perfectly on Armageddon Patronage, and I hope to hear soon more from this unholy trinity from Copenhagen again. At least I that don’t have to wait another few decades for next album to be released.

Especially recommended for fans of Behemoth, Unleashed, Morbid Angel, Deus Otiosis, Incantation, Belphegor and similar extreme acts. For more info on Armageddon Patronage visit https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/armageddon-patronage