LORD TIME
Drink My Tears Review

Lord Time’s most recent release Drink My Tears is an interesting approach to avant-garde black metal songcraft. Andorkappen, also known as Sandor GF, or Sandor Fintor from Harassor, has created two twenty-seven minute tracks that are deluges of both emotional and recitation.  Musically, Lord Time is leaps and bounds away from Harassor and the overall intent of Lord Time is much different, as it is less aggressive than Harassor, but in the same regard, it has just as much, if not more intention. Drink My Tears is an undertaking to listen to, however, it is both rewarding in that it displays a certain variety of sounds common to black metal, but also a total departure from the normal formula and a manifestation of universal darkness.

The first movement of Drink My Tears begins with Glossolalian croaks and builds upon itself with droning guitars and drumming. Andorkappen’s voice then provides the essence of the first movement; an almost transcendent spiral into madness and inward resignation. The first movement continues until it ultimately compresses itself around the eight minute mark, drifting into atmospheric whirls and what is (probably) the Jew’s Harp. In this dark vacuum Lord Time creates both pleasure and discomfort, which ultimately balances the normal tropes of black metal songwriting that preceded it. A little after half way, the tone changes into something much more somber; notes being strummed in a discordant, meandering way. This interaction between aggression and calm is exemplified many more times throughout the first movement, giving way to the second movement of Drink My Tears.

The second movement begins not unlike the first, but surrenders itself to early emphasis on chanting and crashing, sometimes slamming, but albeit muted punk-drumming. From there, it fades into section of reverb-drenched croaking. It becomes a rejection of language and an embrace of otherworldly consciousness. The second movement is perhaps most interesting at this point, which is fortunate and unfortunate depending on what kind of listener you are. Again, like the first movement of Drink My Tears, the second is a revolving door of startlingly bleak guitar work and underscored drums paralleled with mystifying amalgams of dark atmosphere.

Drink My Tears has an undeniable beauty to its method. It is strong and dynamic in its faster moments and earnestly bleak in its darker, slower moments. The switches between periods of aggression and atmospheric rhythm are wonderful in that they produce and overwhelmingly large atmosphere for the listener to lose themselves in. While the length may seem intimidating for newer listeners, those who have dabbled in more avant-garde interpretations of black metal form will find this album to be striking and in some ways more dynamic than contemporaries that categorize themselves in a similar manner. Ultimately, each act of action returns the listener to a place of inaction; this dichotomy between sonic assault and emotional resignation is the fuel for this album’s success.

You can listen to all of Lord Time’s releases here.