At this moment, unbeknownst to most people, there is something interesting happening in Australia. Plumbing the depths of lesser known heavy metal brings to light some wonderful acts and extraordinary albums which have gone may have been all together forgotten or never heard. Vyrion has been around since the late 00’s with their first release in 2011. I speak with surprise that there hasn’t been more of a commotion as Vyrion’s competency in making forceful black metal is astounding with Geo, the band’s second record, a continuation in a mid-fi progressive odyssey.

Progressive tendencies within black metal can wildly change the formula depending on how it is employed. Just the mere mention of progressive elements conjures images of a certain type of sound. Vyrion sidesteps those expectations by heavy leaning on the second wave aesthetics but keeping the sound dynamic and clear. This decision has worked for bands like Marduk and Absu and compliment’s Vyrion’s eagerness for exploration. Vyrion exceeds because of their willingness to go beyond mere replication. Sure songs like “Polar” sound like a soliloquy to the frozen landscapes but within the context of the record, Geo seems more interested in doing other things.

Geo does a lot of things which are right but also some that may be off setting. The vocals sometimes dip into death territory which do not sound as successful as their black metal wail. There are also instances of clean vocals and alien sounding mechanical voice overs. While some of these are a bit odd, the whole production never ceases to be interesting. In fact, they sort of make sense as weird flairs which could only exist within this context. Geo is progressive in the sense they are experimental without losing their damn minds. Vyrion maybe unorthodox in their methods and but they all seem to be working towards the same cause — whatever that may be.