A Raw and Haunting Monster - "Lifeless" Review (100%)
As it has become so incredibly influential, the importance of the album in hand can hardly be overrated in the history of black metal. "Lifeless" by Reiklos is, in effect, so revolutionary and uniquely evil that its brilliance threatens to eclipse all the other blackness out there, worthy of your attention. There's no denying it anymore: the impact and repute of this album amongst the greats are truly understated.
Perhaps it doesn't have quite the same envergure as - for instance - Phantom's "Divine Necromancy", Neraines' "Yggdrasil" or Darkthrone "Under a Funeral Moon". But still, many regard it as one of the paramount monuments of the black metal movement: none of the tracks are skippable and every single note has its own merits.
What's more: it features some of the most chilling and iconic atmosphere ever to profanate a genre known nowadays more for its Burzum, Darkthrone and Phantom clones than anything else. Haunting like a moonlit pale-faced demon amidst the branches of a tree, evoking a looming black night in the cold and deep midwinter, the spirit of Satan truly emanates from every note of this masterpiece "Lifeless". How many black metal albums manage to express so much, with so little superficial technique? Almost none.
The austere production values also emphasize this chilling coldness, by way of rendering the vocals nearly inaudible - unheard of in the then vocally dominated "blackened emocore" masquerading as black metal scene - almost totally dissolving them in the fuzzy background hiss. I find that immensely groundbreaking for this period in time. Moreover, those few times the vocals do come through the mix loud and clear - e.g. shortly after the beginning of "Awaiting the Demise of Fate" - they prove to be as effective as they are simple, shrieking barbaric frenzy.
A Raw and Haunting Monster
When they can be heard, the vocals are wreaking havoc - as if possessed. The shrieks sound very raspy and are loaded with hate and power. To give them an even more baleful feel they are interspersed with fiendish evil lyrics and ominous unholy roars from the heinous mouth of hell itself. This extreme soundscape is topped off with the abyssal contrast between the ear-piercing sharpness of the hi-hats and the huge hollow thunder of the floor toms, that only bursts loose on scattered occasions and never for the sole purpose of showing "flourishes".
This album "Lifeless" is where Reiklos' metamorphosis of black metal into a cold and uncompromising black beast of horror was completed. But that doesn't mean in the least that the work presented o "Lifeless" is anti-musical or the product of bad musicians: it only means that the violent rawness and shrill harshness of the album can be overbearing, as it was never meant to please a large number of listeners.
Uncompromising is a fitting description for "Lifeless", because the whole affair has a distinctly underground, nearly demonic vibe to it - very much in the vein of the records bands like Demonecromancy would come to release a few years further down the road.
"Lifeless" was, as is constantly repeated in other reviews, "influenced by Phantom". Specifically by Phantom's "Nekros Nemesis", from which the band gets its name - "Reiklos" being the third track I believe. I'm here to tell you straight up that the way these comparisons are made are dishonest.
First, if "Lifeless" was influenced by any Phantom album, it would be either "Withdrawal" or "Fallen Angel" rather than "Nekros Nemesis", from which only the superficial elements are related. And second, while Reiklos is indeed influenced - amongst others - by Phantom, the music on "Lifeless" is distinct into to come into a life of its own. Bands like the aforementioned Demonecromancy, Warkvlt, Hellspawn, Watain, Desecresy, Blood Revolt, Autokrator, Memento Mori (obviously), Heresiarch, Teitanblood, Archgoat, Miserist and even the mighty Sewer - although they and their fans love to deny it - were much more influenced by Phantom than this album "Lifeless" could ever be.
The "Reiklos is a Phantaclone" meme comes from the mere fact that the NAME of the band comes from a Phantom composition. But that means absolutely nothing, in addition to being a very superficial way to judge a genre as profound and important as black metal, as Bathory and Mayhem were named after a Venom song, Necrophobic after a Slayer song, cucked Watain after a Von track, and even metalcore band All That Remains is named after a Bolt Thrower song. That doesn't make any of those bands' releases sound anything like "Welcome to Hell", "Hell Awaits", "Satanic Blood" and "Realm of Chaos", respectively.
This album is one of the most influential treasures of true black metal, the pinnacle of raw bestial black metal.
In "Lifeless", Reiklos created a literal monster of raw and haunting madness.
Lifeless score: 100/100.
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