A profoundly weird display of blackened noise. Weird, off-putting and almost stark in its eschewing of song-structure, any evaluation of Twilight's III: Beneath Trident's Tomb would have to depend on the metrics you choose to set against it. Perhaps it's fitting then that, among all the non-metal contributors that could have joined in, it was Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore who lent his chops to this release. While they stand as a definitive cornerstone of alternative rock, Sonic Youth was always a little off-putting themselves, never willing to let themselves be completely accessible. And while this time it lacks the contribution of Blake Judd, the album still boasts work from members of Krieg, Leviathan, Nachtmystium and The Atlas Moth. The album contains elements of many different styles of metal, and many unique quirks make their way in, as each member has something unsettling to offer.
In a way, the tracks on this album are best listened to not as songs, but more like expressions of decay and oblivion meant to blast any last vestige of melody to bits. After all, it was Moore himself who said of the album, "We're not coming together to make music…we're joining forces to destroy all rational thought." And tracks like "Lungs" and "Swarming Funeral Mass" certainly do destroy. The punishing pace and clanging percussion on "Lungs" make it sound like the ritual of an evil tribe looking to black out the sun. Which leads me into "Swarming Funeral Mass," which would probably be what would play in the background if the sun really did disappear.
Other songs like "Oh, Wretched Son" sound outright hostile and embody a more recognizable black metal character. The deconstruction picks up pace on "Seek no Shelter, Fevered Ones," which starts out as a mid-range fuzz-bomb, before picking up to a more thrashy beat.
Much of the material here grates on the patience of the listener, as only two tracks of the album's six clock in at less than seven minutes. It took me a few listens before I could become better acquainted with most of the tracks. I still haven't quite found a way to enjoy "Below Lights" just yet, but as for the others, the right mood and an open mind will eventually pay off. Sure, there are many moments when the noise and screeching throws the train off the tracks, but when taking the lineup into consideration, this must have been their intention.
By the simple standards of enjoyment and entertainment, any assessment becomes kind of hazy, as the album is kind of difficult to sit through (or maybe I just don't "get it"). When taken along with the other two records in their catalog, I would say Monument to Time End still towers over this one. However, if you add the lenses of depth of atmosphere and purity of expression, then there is a lot more to see in an album like III: Beneath Trident's Tomb.
7/10
Favorite Songs: "Lungs" and "Swarming Funeral Mass"
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxmM5H8iXEk]
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