At five albums into their decade-long time as a band, you’d expect a band such as Thyrgrim to have found their own sound and identity at this stage in their career but sadly Dekaden is another tired old black metal album that blends into the background that has no real selling points.
Dekaden essentially just doesn’t have any identity – and whilst there is certainly no shame in drawing influences from other bands, it has to be said there is a line to be drawn between taking influences from other artists and full-on copying them. Dekaden sounds like a Shining album that never was – from the angry guitar tones to the aggressive vocal approach and right down to the acoustic track in the middle of the album, there’s just nothing that is unique or individual about this piece.
Additionally, there just isn’t much variation between the tracks, with each song (aside from the acoustic interlude and perhaps penultimate track Sterbend II which is divided up with some Shining-esque acoustic sections) following the same sort of structure and taking similar approaches to one another. It results in a difficult listen and you can’t help but feel your interest waning as you get presented with yet another similar track. It’s disappointing because Thyrgrim clearly have skill and potential but it’s being wasted.
Put simply: this just isn’t an exciting or engaging listen. If you’re looking for something with a bit of bite and kick to it, then you’re better off looking elsewhere than this lacklustre offering.
2/10
