I’m not even going to waste any time here. I’m just going to come straight out and say that Swedish occult rockers Lykantropi is without a doubt one of the greatest bands I’ve discovered in the last 20 years or so. In the last ten or eleven years, I have been gifted with some of the most amazing, moving, and life-changing music. Iron Maiden as a kid, the Grateful Dead in my 20s, and in the 2000’s it was Graveyard, Jess and the Ancient Ones, and now it is Lykantropi.
When I heard Lykantropi earlier this year, I knew I had stumbled upon something truly magical. Their debut album was constantly played followed by their sophomore release, Spirituosa. From that album, the songs “Vestigia” and “Seven Blue” got played so many times that I probably will make up at least 53% of the streams on Spotify for those songs. Immediately, like with any other band I love this much, I became obsessed and I waited with bated breath for an announcement of a new album.
On November 6th, Lykantropi will release their much anticipated third album, Tales to be Told but I have been granted the privilege of hearing the album in advance I have to say that this is without a doubt going to be my favorite album of 2020. Much like my other favorites Graveyard and Jess and the Ancient Ones, Lykantropi is not a band content with repeating themselves from album to album. Even though this is Lykantropi’s third album, the songs here are a step forward without repeating themselves yet not steering far from what I consider to be their signature sound.
Lykantropi teased me over the past few months trickling out a couple of singles from this album so by the time the first song “Coming Your Way” was playing I already knew this song. This is no fault of the band but because I had played the fuck out of it so much upon its release, I just sat back anticipating what was to follow. The title track is a hard-hitting groove melded with the lush harmony vocals of singer My Shaolin, guitarist/vocalist Martin Ostlund, and flautist Ia Oberg. This is the song that set up the mood for me and I let myself settle in and see where the music would take me.
“Kom ta mi gut” is the song that, in my opinion, is the best representation of what Lykantropi as a band can do. On this song, the band sounds as one. Each of its parts combined create a sonic blanket of sorts that fills me with a warmth of sorts. The music is sparse yet there is a complexity to it that sometimes goes into progressive territory without derailing or becoming self-indulgent. The combined vocals of Ostlund and Shaolin nearly brought me to tears the first time I heard this song and with every listen, it is just as powerful as the first time I heard it.
Tales to be Told is such a spectacular album that I could probably do a 4-5 page essay just talking about the greatness of each song. As corny as it may sound, this album is so great that I am having a hard time putting to words just how moved I am. If I had to choose words to describe Tales to be Told, I would say that it is unsettling, haunting, emotional, dark, light, and moving in a way that very few albums have been.
In all my years of being a music fanatic, I have always favored the music of bands that seemed to take me someplace. I say this a lot when writing about albums but it’s true. When I am listening to music, sometimes I just want it to be silly, fun, or even just background music while other times I want it to move me. I want it to make me stop everything that I am doing and focus on every note, every vocal, and every lyric. That is just what Tales to be Told has done and done extremely well. Tales to be Told is the soundtrack for a journey deep within your mind that will challenge all that you think and all that you believe in.
Pre-Order Tales to be Told HERE!
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