Wilytank
Yyrkoon are really known for being a death metal band with their albums 'Occult Medicine' and 'Unhealthy Opera', but Yyrkoon have actually been an experimental bunch. Even 'Occult Medicine' and 'Unhealthy Opera' sound distinctly different from each other. Their debut actually has standout black metal vibes. It would be wrong, however, to assume that just because it doesn't sound like 'Occult Medicine' or 'Unhealthy Opera', 'Oniric Transition' isn't any good. Why? Because the fact of the matter is that 'Oniric Transition' is VERY good.
When I call this black metal, the prime influences I see here are Satyricon and Emperor with clean vocal sections that sound like they were done by Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg. The keyboards are prominent in 'Oniric Transition', and they work some magical wonders as they carve their dreamy marks. I do hear some death/thrash metal influence in here as well, most prominently in "Lost Ideal" and "Wind of Decline", but still a few traces in the others songs in some riffing patterns, but otherwise I maintain that this is a black metal album due to the super melodic aspect of the guitars and, of course, the keyboards.
I do find 'Oniric Transition' disappointing for its brevity though. The album is only about 30 minutes long, probably less if you take away the intro, interlude, and outro tracks. I felt Yyrkoon could have squeezed a few more tracks in to make this album's experience decidedly more full. Nevertheless, I did find myself quite absorbed in 'Oniric Transition', so much that on my first listen I thought "Throne of Complains" and "The Awakening" were the same track. The guitar solos are very well played when they occur. Of course, my true kudos has to go to the keyboardist again. Without the keys, I'd probably end up scoring this album in the low 80s or high 70s.
'Oniric Transition' is an excellent album for those looking for good symphonic black metal. Yyrkoon are a good band; they can really mix up their music in strange ways and still manage to make a good album. 'Oniric Transition' is no exception. However, this is also probably the hardest album of theirs to get a physical copy of, so good luck to those of you who want to go and try to find it. Even I had to settle with a digital version for review.