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Psilocybe Larvae - Non-Existence review




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Reviewer:
7.5

15 users:
8.33
Band: Psilocybe Larvae
Album: Non-Existence
Release date: February 2008


01. Castaway
02. Sleepwalkers
03. Let The Flame...
04. Cold Desert Of Eternity
05. Non-Existent World
06. Great Silence
07. Asylum
08. Threshold
09. Condemnation

"Psilocybe" is the wonderfully fun genus of small mushrooms often used for 'spiritual journeys'. Spiritual journeys and tripping ballz. I m not sure what the 'larvae' have to do with it as I'd prefer larvae to stay uninvolved with my shrooms, but whatever. To conclude this awfully awkward introduction to this review, Psilocybe Larvae is the band in question today and Non-Existance is the album.

Non-Existance is the third album of the self-proclaimed 'Dark metal' band. I've never considered Dark metal a real genre and I never will, so I'll stick to calling it a mixture of proggy and Gothenburg-styled metal. Granted, with a dark and Death-y touch. Everybody that regularly reads my reviews knows that I generally do not care at all for either Prog or proggy-sounding bands nor for Gothenburg, but I have to say, Non-Existance does tickle my fancy.

It's catchy and it's accessible, although on a few occasions it has pointless and directionless moments. My fear for the band is that they'll be judged as too soft for the Extreme metallers and too extreme for the Melodic metallers, but then again, they might very well receive the praise of both 'camps'. It's hard to tell which way it'll go. Fact is Non-Existance is often catchy and pleasant to listen to. The clean vocals are a nice, although hardly original, touch and the guitars excel in diversity. The growl is decent, it's a shame the shrieks are a bit subpar.

In short: catchy, well-produced, tasty and diverse metal.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 8





Written on 02.05.2010 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff.


Comments

Comments: 12   Visited by: 146 users
02.05.2010 - 20:15
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Do you know if the band name is inspired by Tiamat's "Whatever That Hurts"?
Honey tea, psilocybe larvae / Honey moon, silver spoon / Psilocybe tea

Great song, not so sure about these guys though...

EDIT: Finally got around to this. I'd say they deserve the 7.5 - sometimes the music tends to sound a little uninspired, but overall the atmosphere works well with the vocals and the soothing melodies help balance out the extremity. Good stuff.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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02.05.2010 - 20:18
Lucas
Mr. Noise
Yeah could very well be... I don't know, I don't know much about Tiamat.
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SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?

"The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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02.05.2010 - 23:00
Fat & Sassy!

Sounds interesting, and the album artwork is fantastic.
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04.05.2010 - 00:37
Edmund Fogg

Really good review.I want to like this album because it is diverse and there is a lot of talent put behind their sound but I don't feel drawn to the music.kinda the same feeling I get with Persefone.Maybe if they tried to put more emphasis on creating a mood instead of loosing themself in proggy stuff it would be more attractive.I don't know
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You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM
The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom
God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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05.05.2010 - 08:25
Rating: 7
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Listening to them now. surprisingly good, but I do agree that it has it's moments which it seems to wander around aimlessly. Thanks for the recommendation.
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loves 小巫
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06.05.2010 - 15:39
Rating: 10
Larv

Hi there!

Larv from PL here.

Thanks for the comments.

I'm not sure that the album has much proggy stuff. It's doom/death mostly. I prefer to call it manic-depressive music. We were just trying to make disturbing and dark atmosphere.

But you're right It’s not easily set to these tunes ))))
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16.05.2010 - 20:33
Rating: 7
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Written by Larv on 06.05.2010 at 15:39

Hi there!

Larv from PL here.

Thanks for the comments.

I'm not sure that the album has much proggy stuff. It's doom/death mostly. I prefer to call it manic-depressive music. We were just trying to make disturbing and dark atmosphere.

But you're right It's not easily set to these tunes ))))
hope to hear a new album from you folks. Pretty good stuff (=
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loves 小巫
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18.05.2010 - 18:45
Edmund Fogg

Written by Larv on 06.05.2010 at 15:39

Hi there!

Larv from PL here.

Thanks for the comments.

I'm not sure that the album has much proggy stuff. It's doom/death mostly. I prefer to call it manic-depressive music. We were just trying to make disturbing and dark atmosphere.

But you're right It's not easily set to these tunes ))))

Hey there, Your music is really interesting.The only thing wrong I could find was that sometimes you set the listener in a dark and thick mood and during that same song the listener (I) felt dragged away from that great atmosphere by some guitar work that needed more attention.I don<t know if it<s clear I am no reviewer.
----
You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM
The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom
God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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19.05.2010 - 15:51
Rating: 10
Larv

Quote:
Quote:
hope to hear a new album from you folks. Pretty good stuff (=


The core of stuff is written, we need to pull it together as band and make some arrangements or may be adjustments. It's a matter of time and of course, money issue ))))
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19.05.2010 - 15:57
Rating: 10
Larv

Quote:
Quote:

Hey there, Your music is really interesting.The only thing wrong I could find was that sometimes you set the listener in a dark and thick mood and during that same song the listener (I) felt dragged away from that great atmosphere by some guitar work that needed more attention.I don<t know if it<s clear I am no reviewer.


I'm not quite sure what you mean. Guitar skill? musicianship? sound?
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19.05.2010 - 16:33
Edmund Fogg

Quote:
Quote:
Written by Larv on 19.05.2010 at 15:57




I'm not quite sure what you mean. Guitar skill? musicianship? sound?

the skill and musicanship is not in question.What I mean is that when the guitar work gets more complex during the song I got draggued away from the ambiance to pay more attention to the skillfull guitar playing.Imo the guitar playing gets too elaborate during the songs.To some it's a good thing but to me I prefer a more minimalist approach when I'm listening to Atmospheric music.
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You cannot sedate all the things you hate - MM
The Observer is the source of reality - Bloom
God damn it!! What did Diddy didn't do? - Satan
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20.05.2010 - 09:26
Rating: 10
Larv

Yes, may be too much proggy guitar stuff for you. But this is the way we envision it ))))
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