Artist: Lantlos
Title: Neon
Type: Album
Label: Prophecy Productions

With the advent of new material from Alcest and Altar of Plagues already this year and plenty more still to come, the ‘post-black metal’ phenomenon shows no sign of abating. Lantlos are the most recent act to unleash their particular brand of reflective, urban-tinged black metal melancholy so beloved of this genre and it must be said, certainly manage to tick all of the requisite boxes guaranteed to get fans of this genre salivating. From the get-go, ‘Neon’ is cloaked in a shroud of bleak, grey hopelessness and morose rumination. Drawing heavily upon the ambience of ‘Discouraged One’-era Katatonia and the monochromatic grittiness of Joy Division and their ilk, shot through with cold, focussed aggression at times, sole instrumentalist and mastermind Herbst has created an accomplished opus. Killer artwork from Fursey Teyssier (Les Discrets, Alcest), heavily reminiscent of a darker, more spectral version of Munch’s ‘The Scream’ completes the package, lending weight to the desolation within.

‘Neon’ screams professionalism and worthiness, from ‘Minusmench’s sombre opening chords to the last few despairing minutes of the closing title track. The production is full and sublime, the song dynamics swooping gracefully. However, there’s a nagging undercurrent to the latest Lantlos that leaves me slightly uneasy – in adhering so closely to the currently accepted template of ‘post black metal’, the album does feel at times rather familiar. Recruiting Alcest’s Neige for voice duties has undoubtedly ensured that the quality of the vocals are not in doubt but coupled with the mournful-yet-beautiful tone of the album and clear shoegaze/post-rock elements, it does almost feel like a collection of Alcest out-takes at times. Even the Lantlos logo is incredibly similar to Alcest’s simple hand-written signature.

It feels unfair to level criticism at an album that is so clearly of a high standard – indeed, the double-whammy of ‘These Nights Were Ours’ (with it’s searing blastbeats) and the sprawling atmospherics of ‘Pulse/Surreal’ are up there with the best that the genre has to offer. Perhaps ‘Neon’s only crime is adhering too firmly to a branch of black metal that has experienced a surprisingly sustained period of exposure and critical acclaim in recent years. It certainly isn’t Lantlos’s fault that post-black is so ‘in’ at the moment but by firmly entrenching himself within this fold, Herbst must be prepared to have his works examined in the context of some truly ground-breaking works. This album is a fine example of a genre that is very much experiencing an upsurge in creativity and popularity, however it does not take any further steps forward than that which has come before it.

http://www.myspace.com/lantlos