I like black metal. I also like crust punk. Seldom however do I enjoy the amalgamation of the two that has dominated the underground for the better part of a decade. I’m not sure why. Perhaps in the early 2010s, there was something captivating about bands taking the second wave black metal ethos and fusing it with vicious crust tropes and socially conscious lyrics. After all, I’ve always believed Amebix was just as crucial to the development of black metal as Venom, Hellhammer, Bathory, etc., but that’s another essay for another day.
Fast forward a decade later and most bands pursuing this fusion are lazily rehashing everything that’s been done before. If you’re going to be a blackened crust band who catches my attention, you have to be musically interesting; throw me a curveball. And Dryad is most certainly an interesting curveball. For one, they’re not a “blackened crust” band in the traditional sense of the term. They play black metal, and they play crust punk, but I wouldn’t go so far to say they consistently play both simultaneously, especially not throughout the course of their debut album, The Abyssal Plain.
After an ominous, unsettling intro in “Counterillumination”, Dryad goes all guns blazing with “Bottomfeeder”: A ripping cut that can best be described as black metal gone crust with epic and atmospheric undertones. The production is raw, yet bombastic and over the top, which is quite uncommon for an affair of this nature. In other words, Dryad owes as much to Emperor and Satyricon as they do Discharge and Napalm Death. Songs like “Loki’s Castle” and “Eutrophication” showcase the band’s penchant for unforgiving black metal, while mosh-worthy ragers like “Brine Pool Aberration” and “Trenches” evoke images of a drunken night out on the town, immersed in a layer of spikes and leather.
The incorporation of sporadic dungeon synths soundscapes in “Hadal” and “Raptures of the Deep” give the listener space to breathe in between the chaos, as does the unexpected influences of genres like gothic rock, post-punk, and doom metal. These undertones can be heard in the riffing and arrangements of the title track, and my personal favorite cut, “Pompeii Worm”. What starts out as an exercise in October File era Die Kreuzen worship segues into an eerie blackened post-punk beast that stands on its own in terms of impact.
While I found myself a bit worn down by the band’s chaotic spin on black metal by the end of this release, one can’t help but admire Dryad’s unpredictability. There’s a sort of frantic chaos to their unique blend of extreme metalpunk, which recalls the glory days of Voivod, Amebix, and the aforementioned Die Kreuzen. Even at it’s most “predictable” moments, The Abyssal Plain manages to remain a surprise and a half, guaranteeing nothing but sheer metallic anarchy. I’m not sure if I see myself returning to this release often, as it is most definitely an acquired taste. However, if you’re a curious headbanger willing to step out of your comfort zone for roughly 35 minutes, a journey through The Abyssal Plain is worth your while.
6 out of 10
Label: Prosthetic Records
Genre: Blackened Crust
For fans of: Die Kreuzen, Amebix, Discharge