Tyrmfar - Renewal Through Purification

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

From Switzerland hails TYRMFAR, a Blackened Death Metal band that recently unleashed their newest full-length, “Renewal Through Purification”. Angry and hungry for blood, this album starts out with lashing tongues and hateful riffs. “…of the Legions of Eternity” is wonderfully set up by its symphonic introduction and easily becomes the best song on the album. Its brutality and groove do not go unnoticed behind the blackened riffing and melodic soars, and this theme continues throughout the next few tracks. In fact, the next few tracks seem to be the better tracks on the album, save a couple at the very end.

There is usually a point in an album where the listener starts to lose interest, and that point, for me, was somewhere in “Mountains of Madness”, track seven out of 12. It isn’t until track 10 when the album starts to pick up again, leaving a three-song void of dull riffs and pointless melodies. The songs’ only saving graces are the melodic closers and bass drops they mostly possess. Speaking of melodic closers, these guys love to write them. Some songs, like “Humanity’s End” or “The Almighty”, have melodic finishers that fit into the song. Other songs, like “Mountains of Madness” and “Dehumanization”, have melodic endings that just feel like they are the only things keeping them alive.

The main issue with this album is its structure. It doesn’t matter if a band has a few boring songs on an album, but it does become an issue when they are mostly clumped together. They needed to spread the better songs out. If the listener gets bored by track seven – a little more than halfway through – then there is a problem with structure. Besides, they start with their strongest song, which builds up expectations in the listener. When the rest of the album does not meet that expectation, it is even more disappointing than if they put that track in the middle or at the end.

Outside of this album’s flaws, there are some very good tracks. Once in a while, the band will play with songwriting by throwing in groovy passages and unpredictable, melodic segments. “Implore the Reaper” implements groovy riffs immediately after a verse, perfectly transitioning it through a nicely progressed piece of music. Then there are songs like “Living Corpses” that employ a basic structure but sound savage and dark. In the end, this album is quite messy. The riffs are either basic and dull or out-of-the-blue and epic. If I could make a suggestion, it would be to keep the album thin. Twelve tracks are a lot and can be intimidating, and it doesn’t help that some tracks are dull. The elimination of a few tracks – even if the band thinks they are good – is an option. Save them for an EP or the next album. Otherwise, rearrange the track listing.

Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Memorability: 5
Production: 10