Wisdom Of Wind: Thy Light

Friday, March 27, 2015

Thy Light

Thy Light is a brazilian depressive black metal band that formed back in 2005 and released their first demo, the rather awkwardly named Suici.De.pression, two years later. It became quite popular in the depressive black metal scene, and after listening to it, I can see why.

The album begins with the title track, which is a beautiful and wondrous piano piece. It sounds rather joyous, which stands in stark contrast with the black metal that is to follow.

Not only is the piano superb, but so is the black metal. Since this was all recorded by one guy, I’m pretty sure he used a drum machine, but the drum machine is pretty well-programmed. They keep to a moderate-to-slow pace and their structures are simple. One thing I really like about them is how prominent the snare is. This helps make the drums sound so real. I also like the double-bass they play on occasion. It doesn’t sound mechanical like it does in so many other bands. The double-bass here gives the music much more impact.

The guitars sound quite morose, but unlike most other bands of their type, they have a great deal of melody to them. They also like to toy around with the reverb to create a more wondrous sound, such as on “I am the bitter taste of gall”. Unlike most other depressive black metal bands, they don’t try to imitate Burzum. Instead, they create a sound that is all their own. Another thing that makes Thy Light stand out from the crowd is that they include something that is rarely seen in depressive black metal: solos. These solos pierce the heavens with their powerful cries, and they fill me with a sense of awe every time I listen to them, especially the ones on “In My Last Mourning…” and the closer “…And I Finally Reach My End”. Every time I hear those solos, my heart melts.

Another remarkable aspect about Thy Light’s music is the vocal performance. The man’s rasps and howls exude so much pain and suffering, a level that wouldn’t be matched until Tim Yatras’s performance on Austere’s To Lay Like Old Ashes. There are even times when he performs distorted, low-pitched spoken-word passages similar to Leviathan.

This demo’s filled with so much anguish and agony, the piano and keyboard sections are just plain beautiful, and the guitars are fucking amazing, especially when they do those powerful and awesome solos. It’s no wonder this demo got so popular within the depressive black metal scene.

Suici.De.pression (2007)