Apollyon Sun
“Sub”
(Mayan Records)
“Apollyon” as far as I can discern is some sort of destroyer demon who lays waste to whatever needs waste laid on it. “Sun,” as far as I’ve been able to gather is the bright shiny hot thing in the sky. Together, “Apollyon” and “Sun” would seem to signify a sun of destruction as opposed to the sun as a warming, giver of life. Perhaps the band wishes to also be viewed from this aspect, as something good, but also with the potential for great awfulness.
It’s appropriate if they do. The metal riffing hits strong and true. The Skinny Puppy like industrial sounds mix into the tracks nicely, and they keep the music interesting enough to overlook the lyrics that seem to come straight off a sad little goth kid’s oh-so-scary website. You know the kind of site I mean: drippy blood dividing lines, animated pentagram and skeleton .gifs, and thinly veiled threats of violence against their school mates.
Halfway through the album, the band strikes upon a weakness to write ballads in the mode of Queensryche. Bad weakness. Bad Apollyon Sun. Despite the problems, the music grows on the listener with repeated plays, and if this band keeps working they may birth a unique sound.
