Tyrant - Grimoires (2005)

Not to be confused with the horde of other bands that are both currently and having previously operated under the Tyrant moniker, this particular Tyrant is from Yokohama, Japan, and formed back in 1994. Since then they've released a demo, a couple of albums here and there and finally this third long play, 'Grimoires' in 2005, which may or may not be the bands last album since activities have been quiet around this band since.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Tyrant has changed much since their previous efforts, such as 2002's, 'Legend,' and as it stands there really isn't anything original about the band in the first place since this is heavily synthesized black metal, but if anything they’ve certainly strengthened their craft on this third release as they deliver the optimal harvest of blackened symphonic metal adequately.

Guitarist Z3 really handles his instrument well here revealing lots of superb melodic guitar riffs, killer solos, occasionally acoustic breaks and even some semi-technical show-off-ness, which like the previous album, seem to show more influence from classic and thrash metal than say grim black metal, but that's probably obvious. Keisuke’s vocals are blackened hoarse screams with occasional growls and spoken narration (Noted as 'Devil Voice' in the booklet), which he delivers rather effectively, but you've probably heard Shagrath and Mr. Filth before, so ya know how it is.

Of course this is symphonic black metal and naturally one of the biggest highlights is the keyboard work of Ayumi, which I hope is in fact a chick, because she's really quite thee hottie, but this is Japan were talking about here and there could be a penis underneath all that cuteness. And, umm, yeah..., anyway, just like the previous album her keyboards are very mysterious, orchestral and grandiose sounding; there’s even a few short synth interludes in the album that transports your mind to a more serene vicinity as you listen, yep not to bad at all. Also the album is produced decently and as a result of that the keyboards don't dominate over the guitars or other instruments much, which is certainly a nice change from their previous records.

Songs to pay attention to you ask? Well, shucks, there’s a bunch, but the ones that stand out the most for me are both, ‘Rebellion parts 1 & 2,’ ‘Babylon the great’ and ‘Riding the Breeze.’ Both of the Rebellion songs are magnificent symphonic black metal songs at there best, and the same certainly goes for the Babylon song since I believe that features the strongest keyboard work. I also really appreciate the short instrumental Riding the Breeze, which is a really stunning synth interlude. Oh yes and I mustn’t forget the very pleasing, ‘Devil’s Pact’ that shows the keyboards taking on more of a medieval feeling.

Lyrically the album is, as you might have guessed, a very satanic themed album, but the words are not written in a worshipping manner. They seem to be written in a more storytelling method with certain characters speaking at times, perhaps as if they took ideas from the bible and wrote their own stories from them. If you like dark poetry then you’re sure to enjoy these words.

Obviously when it comes to this sort of music the largest emphasis is placed on the keyboards and if you enjoy such things then you’re going to totally dig Grimoires. Little else can be said other than if you really enjoy melodic symphonic blackened metal in the vein of older Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Old Man's Child, Covenant and so on, then I give Grimoires my approval.