Inside Black Dimension
(Destruktion Records)
42:17min
R’LYEH from Mexico, is a Death Metal band formed by Roger Bravo (bass / vocals), Lugo Barret (guitars) and Eduardo Fuentes (drums) that makes part of that golden generation of Mexican Death Metal pioneers led more 30 years ago by iconic bands like TOXODETH, NOCTAMBULISM, MORTUARY, SHUB NIGGURATH, CENOTAPH or THE CHASM, among others. Inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft universe, R’LYEH is speaking to us in “R’lyehian”, a language that no human can understand. Their first release from 1991 was their split “R’lyeh / Devourment” with DEVOURMENT (also from Mexico) that by the way ceased to exist after that split and that had been formed with members of R’LYEH. One year later, in 1992, R’LYEH released their first and only demo so far, “Ancestral Terrors”, a demo that presented a band with a solid Death Metal. They paused for seven years and in 1999 released their only EP to date, “The Black Island”, reinforcing their cavernous style. 14 years later (2013) they showed up with their first full-lenght “In the Infernal Moment”, released by the label Lux Inframundis Productions (Daniel Corchado), making a huge impact on the Mexican and international underground Death Metal scenes. Then in 2019, the appearance of their second full-length “Ritual Of Darkness” one more time gave a shortcut to identify what R’LYEH’s Death Metal was all about. And last year, 2023, “Inside Black Dimension”, came to life through the German label Destruktion Records, as a DIN A5 sized digipak, with a cover art in which we can contemplate the monster inside the black dimension, offering an album that keeps the band’s flame and identity intact. R’LYEH remains underground and has kept their style from the early days giving them authority to speak about honesty and coherence. “Inside Black Dimension” prooves that staying true to their underground roots while continuously refining their cavernous / raw Death Metal approach has been a formula worth the wait! Their consistency over the years is evident. Although the gap between their albums has been significant, it has been filled with compilations that collect the best of their releases in between. Now, regarding the new album, I must say it’s one of the releases I’ve eagerly anticipated in recent years. The opening track ‘Alhazred’s Lamp’ sets the tone for what is to come: dark, relentless and punishing Death Metal to the core. Remaining tracks, like ‘Inside Black Dimension’, ‘Through Time Space’ or ‘God Of The Desert’, not only complement the album’s structure, but reinforce the essence of the band: a visceral journey through the depths of Death Metal, haunting and chaotic, like being swallowed by the void. And even when navigating the nine tracks of the album may lead us to a very complicated decision to pick up a favorite one, I feel especially inclined to choose ‘Night Noises’ (fifth track) as it reprsents the essence not only of the album, but also the structure of the band’s DNA, complete darkness. A special mention to the last track ‘Behind The Abyss’, a track that perfectly closes the circle for this album and encapsulates the unspeakable inhuman languages of the album back to the scrolls of mystery. Iä R’lyea! Cthulhu ftagn! Iä! Iä! For more information, check out: www.facebook.com/rlyehdeathmetal, https://destruktionrecords.blogspot.com
Oswaldo Gonzalez