lynch. - D.A.R.K. -In the name of evil-

[ghost 2687]

 

 

After weeks of listening to lynch.'s new album I've come to the conclusion that "D.A.R.K. -In the name of evil-" ranks among the best of lynch.'s repertoire. Seriously, I haven't had this much fun listening to a lynch. album since "I BELIEVE IN ME". Let's get right into it.

 
INTRODUCTION is nothing special but does a good enough job as a transitional piece. It's just a group of strings playing louder and louder until it climaxes into the next song.  D.A.R.K. starts out just as you might think: Heavy and, well, dark. But, the song becomes softer going into the chorus. Hazuki's melody is melancholic and the addition of piano adds a soft beauty. The song is a steady back and forth between the heavy and soft sections but it all gels quite nicely. 
 

There's no time to take it easy though as ANTARES ramps up the energy. Immediately, I hear remnants of "Inferiority Complex" in the guitars and the steady "boom-chuck" cadence of the drums. Personally, I'm not a fan of that style but all can be forgiven if the chorus is awesome. Unfortunately, the chorus is weak and uninspired and just doesn't seem to fit the tone of the album set so far. It sounds too bright. However, a little over halfway the song a break down comes out of nowhere and shakes up the place. It's just too bad it doesn't last longer. In fact, because it's so abrupt it breaks the flow of the song and I question if it might have been better had they left it out. In the end, it just feels like lynch. took a weak "Inferiority Complex" era song and re-purposed it for "-In the name of evil-". If the last track didn't get you pumped though, EVOKE hits hard and keeps the momentum going. Hazuki lets out a visceral yell as the drums are relentlessly blasting and guitars are riffing. The chorus melody is really catchy and ranks among one of my favorites and, there's another amazing breakdown in this song. 
 
Next up is the medium-tempo jazzy rock track GHOST. While it's nothing jaw dropping, it's refreshing to hear the band do something different for a change. I don't like that it's right after EVOKE though as the change in pace drags the album down. For circus music lovers and radio listeners, lynch. starts out ILLUMINATI with a "crossing-a-tightrope-type" song played on timpani and organs under a radio filter. But, don't worry. If you're not a fan of either, the song launches back into their heavy and dark style. This is another song with a fantastic chorus and the use of Hazuki's backup screams add some brutality. The band is holding back no punches and hits us with another break down but this time with more discord and ferocity. 
 
We finally get to our first ballad, ETERNITY. There's not too much to say except that it's all beautiful: The pulsing bass, rolling toms, articulate piano, swirling guitars, and the heartfelt vocals. Quadruple kick drum is the name of the game with FALLEN. It's a straight forward song with great melodies but the quadruple kick cadence in the drums helps add some extra emphasis to really drive those melodies through the song. It's a nice more energetic extension of ETERNITY. 
 
BEAST brings the tempo back up with some awesome riffs and screaming. The chorus is simple but well built and memorable. It's actually similar to ANTARES as Hazuki even uses the same "whooah-ooh-oh"s for the backup vocals in the chorus. lynch. might have been better off renaming the album "D.A.R.K. -In the name of break downs-" because another great one is featured here. Initially I had problems with the length and felt that thet song could've have used more sections, but I've grown to enjoy the length and even its repetitive nature. At least it's not as short as INVADER. Clocking in at 1:27 we have the shortest song here on the album (I think maybe even the shortest lynch. song ever). As a result, all I have to say is it's a fast, heavy song with some great slap bass action and a decent chorus.
 
COSMOS was one of my most anticipated songs on the album. Part of that anticipation can be attributed to the amazing guitar riff heard in the preview. However, it ended up falling short of expectations. I just wanted the song to revolve around the awesome riff, but it takes another 2 minutes from the beginning of the chorus to get there again (aka the end of the song). I think the problem is that they approached this song like GALLOWS where the first half is heavy, the second half is chorus, and the ending is back to heavy. The track could've have benefited from being shorter or being written to sprinkle the riff in more throughout the song. MELANCHOLIC is another wonderful ballad that manages to stay a different flavor than the previous two before it (FALLEN is a ballad right?....Power ballad maybe?...). Again, not much to say except that it's beautiful. We finally come to the last track MOON. First off, I just want to say I love that it extends from the last song by using similar guitar effects/sounds. Basically, I'm just trying to say it really sounds like the perfect song after MELANCHOLIC. It's a really upbeat track and ends the album nicely. Essentially, it's like all the other lynch. album closers (seriously, all lynch. albums end on a more upbeat note).
 
But, it did make me think. Nearly 80% of the album was upbeat like MOON. D.A.R.K., ILLUMINATI, and maybe COSMOS were really the only tracks that delivered that dark and evil theme. All the other songs were either just heavy but not dark/nefarious, or ballads. I enjoyed the album a lot, but I'm thinking maybe the album was misnamed.
 
Still, I regard "D.A.R.K. -In the name of evil-" as one of lynch.'s best works. Most of the songs are fantastic, the pacing of the album is spot on for the most part, and the variety of song types keeps every listen enjoyable. I swear the album only gets better with each listen.
 

[YuyoDrift 1540]

I have to agree, this is their best album to date. After the first listen, it just lingers in your mind, as you secretly hum your favorite tracks all day in a dreamy-like state everywhere you go.

 

Not to mention it's the perfect time of the year to release the album too, as their sound gives off an invigorating or brisk feel, suiting the fall season perfectly.

 

In terms of their performance, its flawless IMO. Probably some of the best pacing, tone, and composition I've heard from them (or any band right now). The overall sound is top tier, with not one instrument overshadowing the other. Hazuki's vocals are so damn clean, that I can't even right now.

 

If you wanna hear what an ACTUAL improvement is, listen to this album. In fact, I am so impressed, that I am purchasing this CD.

 

My personal favorite tracks are:

2. D.A.R.K.

3. Antares

4. Evoke

7. Eternity

8. Fallen

11. Cosmos

12. Melancholic

13. Moon

 

(Yes, quite a few haha)

 

Since the album's release, it's the only thing I can listen to at the moment. The album gets better with every listen.

 

This is the EXACT potential that I knew that they were capable of. Let's say Lynch has managed to pull a few of my heartstrings (what's left of them anyways).

[Ro plz 1290]

Copy and paste from my FB status:

 

D.A.R.K -In the Name of Evil- is a pretty cool album by Lynch. It feels like it's a blend of mainly Shadowz, Inferiority Complex, and Gallows and some of their earlier works. Much more variety than Gallows and sounds like they got more of a hold of the metalcore aspect that they've been flirting with as of recently. Can't really point out anything too new, but I do feel like the band just had fun and did their thing which is just as important. It sounds pretty nice regardless. Also there's really not a song that I'd deem bad. They all seem to flow pretty well together. I haven't been able to stop listening to it since it came out. Def a fav for this year.

9.0/10

 

Key songs:
DARK

ILLUMINATI

FALLEN
COSMOS

ETERNITY

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I really enjoyed this album. "ETERNITY" is a great single in general, and doesn't feel overplayed in the context of this album. My favorite new song is probably "BEAST" though.

[Pandabear 414]

It’s lynch doing what lynch does best. Alternative metal. They would have had a pretty solid album on their hands if it wasn’t for two things, some filler tracks and the production. Most of the tracks here are enjoyable and there’s enough variety to keep songs from blurring, although it isn’t completely free of that. To me they could have gotten rid of tracks like ghost or Invader, which don’t really add anything to the album and broke away from the mood of the other songs. 

 

The most glaring flaw of this release to me is the production, which I’m surprised nobody has mentioned considering how many people complained about the production on lynch’s last album. This album is slammed to hell. It’s probably one of the loudest, if not the loudest album I’ve heard all year. Way to destroy your dynamics guys. This is pretty obvious on a song like Antares where the snare rolls sound terrible. It also make the album fatiguing and distracting when I can clearly hear the compression clamping down on the instruments.

 

Despite the production problems I’d give this a 6 out of 10. Probably would have been a 7 if not for the loudness. 

[DogManX 179]

I really enjoyed the album. Great experience. I already liked GALLOWS a lot, they're really getting focused again. What I especially loved besides the great choruses were the ballads in general with that inconic old-vk-guitar tune. It's really easy to deal with lynch albums because they sort of manage every time to have the same order of strong beginning - weak 3/4 and strong ending again. Also good production by the way. Only the opener fell a bit short on the atmospheric climax it tried to reach after the intro.

 

best songs so far:

 

Evoke

Eternity

Cosmos

Melancholic

Moon