CD Title: The Man of the Black Abyss
Year: 2008
Website: myspace.com/cypher16
MySpace: myspace.com/cypher16
Label: None
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks... and wherever else I can post it!
Rating: 8.3 / 10
More Links: Cypher16 Forum on Loucifer Speaks.
Cypher16 are, alongside Havoc System, Dimmz and Storm The Gates, one of the Toxic Trash Management bands that I've recently had the pleasure of discovering... Well, I use the word 'discovering' loosely since I didn't actually discover them at all... Although I wish that I had.
"The Man of the Black Abyss" is made up of 4 tracks that are bursting with metallic riffs, mesmerising melodies and a superb progressive edge that'll keep you interested from start to finish.
The EP opens with "Symphony To End It All (III)" and it's easy to see why. This is an incredibly strong track and is probably my favourite from this collection. Cypher16 have created a vast soundscape that you can easily lose yourself in... even if it is only for 4.13 minutes. Highly recommended.
Next up is "The Ultimate Paradox". Although I didn't warm to this one instantly, it has grown on me. The vocals are relatively understated in comparison to the previous track and this lends the song a strange eerie quality.
"Superdancer" has a real industrial feel to it. Unfortunately, for me, this leads it to be my least favourite from the EP. It's still a well-written track, but it just doesn't grab me as much as "Symphony..." does.
The EP closes with "...And The Force (Threw Him Across The Room)", aka my second favourite track here. The pace of it just seems to coax you into moving along. It's incredibly difficult to sit or stand still while listening to this one.
All in all "The Man Of The Black Abyss" is an interested bag of goodies - metal, thrash, rock and industrial all lurk within it. Somehow Cypher16 have managed to make all of the genres compliment each other. While not all of the tracks were instant hits with me, I found that after a few listens they all grew on me. I've not heard anything from Cypher16 before, but if this EP is anything to go by then I definitely look forward to hearing more from them in the future.