When it comes to customization, Neocities offers an incredible degree of freedom, but most metal bands still prefer mainstream websites like Facebook because they don’t want to go through the effort of designing their own website or paying someone to make a website for them. In that regard, LanzerRath is not like most metal bands. Not only do they have a site on Neocities, it’s one of the most popular metal sites on the platform. I’ve known about them for quite some time, but the reason I’m talking about them now is because they chose to follow me. I am grateful that they think my work is worth following.
They formed back in 2018 and have so far released two full-lengths with a third coming out in April. They are one of those bands who use black metal as a raw and unfiltered expression of emotion. This is made evident by the large amount of variety in their music. They incorporate elements from traditional black metal, doom metal, and thrash metal, and there are moments when they draw inspiration from the LLN and atmospheric black metal bands.
The drums play your typical black metal blast beats, but they also throw in some mid-paced rhythms that include copious amounts of rumbling double bass that help to create a dark and cloudy atmosphere. The raspy vocals aren’t that much different from other black metal bands, but they’re performed well. I also liked the growls that sometimes accompanied them. The guitars are outstanding as they express a wide range of emotions. The tremolo riffs are cold and bitter for the most part, but there are moments when they have a slightly epic quality. Some of the mid-paced chord progressions sound sinister while others sound more like depressive black metal. Aggression and melody frequently swirl about each other and create moments of chaos. The songs that best exemplify this are “In The Mirror” and “Self Sustained Suffering”.
LanzerRath is a great band. They use their immense skill to create black metal that expresses emotion on a deeper level than most of their peers. Their aggression is astounding and their melody is superb. Their latest full-length, An Infinite Instant, will be released next month, so you should keep your eye out for that.