“When I throw the label “experimental metal” out to you, what does your blastbeat-addled mind conjure for images and sounds? Does your brain picture off-the-wall time changes, weird instrumentation, musical concepts foreign to metal, or something truly out of left field? Or, like me, does it simply explain that what you’re about to listen to, well, isn’t really metal? Sadly, 9 times out of 10, most “experimental” bands fall into the latter category. Lethe is a new project featuring Anna Murphy (Eluveitie) and Tor-Helge Skei (Manes) waving the “experimental metal” flag with their debut, When Dreams Become Nightmares. Does Lethe carve a new path through the thickets, emblazoning new trails, and sending the hordes kicking and screaming, welcoming the dawn of a new day in the world of heavy metal?” Grymm answers this thorny question and weighs the relative worth of this experiment in metal and/or non-metal.
