Normally the review comes before the list. Normally, Goat Review policies are that when the year turns, so do we. No 2025 releases in 2026. However, when I suggested an exception might be made for Lychgate‘s Precipice, released so irritatingly late in December, the response was instantly positive. Maybe that’s related to the fact that judging from the drafts, Lychgate made more Goat Review lists than any other band this year. Maybe it’s because rules are meant to be broken when they don’t help. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that Precipice is an onslaught of convoluted, vitriolic, atmospheric metal that deserves a bunch of love.
Precipice is also an album that deserves plenty of time to unravel. Lychgate‘s sound is dense and layered, and their commitment to angular melodies and sudden shifts in mood is positively Morbid Angel-esque. It’s rather like getting attacked by a werewolf – instantly attention grabbing, but hard to process. Yet one of the keys to Lychgate‘s success here is that, despite the busy aggression of songs like “Mausoleum of Steel” and the guitar acrobatics found on “Renunciation”, everything is allowed time to breathe and shine. The production keeps the bass melodies of Tom McLean (ex-Haken, To-Mera) and atmospheric keys of JC Young (The One, Spearhead) and guest FA Young completely audible. There’s plenty of quieter, contemplative moments, like the middle part of nine minute banger “Hive of Parasites”, where the piano and organ take the lead too. These passages give Precipice a grand, atmospheric air, not unlike A Forest of Stars, but offer no respite to the tension. Rather, they help build the sense of going insane in dystopian conditions (EM Forster‘s The Machine Stops is a conceptual underpinning of the album), a sense that keeps a diverse set of sounds very cohesive. Throw in the propulsive, dynamic drum work of TJF Valley (Macabre Omen) and the twisted riffage of Greg Chandler (Esoteric) and JC Young, and you get something that is deeply impressive all across the board.
Really, other than not finding guest YW‘s flute in the mix and thinking Precipice is a tad front loaded, I have very little criticism other than the release date. I’ve griped about this before but it bears repeating that December 19th is not the best time to release new music, never-mind new music this good. And it really is this good. Precipice is an example of how to blend genres seamlessly and a masterpiece in demonstrating how music can be thought provoking and right in your fucking face all at once. It is a triumph of extreme metal. So stop your other machines and go listen to Lychgate right now.
