I’ve got a shitload of respect for solo projects. Not just in music, but almost any pursuit. (I can’t tell you how many YouTube videos I’ve devoured, for example, documenting one dude building a fortified shelter in the woods, from scratch.) Conceiving any project and seeing it through to completion on one’s own will never not be impressive to me, a guy who’d struggle mightily keep a piddly WordPress blog together without a dozen or so comrades also in tow.

Anyway, you’re here for the music. The music, in this case, is Tales of Treachery, the debut album from Asheville, NC-based Lammoth. It’s a solo black metal project multi-instrumentalist Robert Sanford, and for a little while, it sounds like… just, your standard-issue black metal record. But then, Sanford starts to move beyond the genre’s typical boundaries, at which point this thing actually becomes pretty memorable.

As you might have surmised from Sanford’s stage name, Lammoth centers conceptually around the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. (If you wanna get nerdy with us for a moment: it’s the name of a region in The Silmarillion where the great spider Ungoliant attacked primary antagonist Morgoth, seeking to gain control of the Silmarils. Morgoth let out a great howl — the Lammoth (or “great echo”) — to summon the aid of his allies, the Balrogs. Said howl was so devastating it literally became the name of the region.)

If you think about it, that’s a pretty fitting name for both Sanford’s music and the black metal genre as a whole. It’s cold, it’s filled with anguish, and Sanford’s howls could fill an entire countryside with cacophony.

At first glance, Tales of Treachery seems to check a lot of the boxes you’d expect from a grim and frostbitten, classic black metal record. Sanford’s riffs are nimble and tremolo-picked. Eerie synth patterns lurk in the background, creating a ghoulish atmosphere. The beats blast feverishly, if not a bit tinnily. (Sanford has mentioned owning a 1980s-era Roland drum machine, and while I don’t know for sure if that’s what he used here, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is. During the album’s most intense moments, the relative thinness of the drums can’t help but stand out.)

As the album progresses, though, you start to hear the unconventional elements creeping in. “Lunar Tales of Fire and Magic” introduces an adventurous lead melody and, dare I say… major chords? Midway through the next track, “Ascending the Steps of Minas Morgul,” the proceedings abruptly pause and give way to… a breakbeat? And it actually works?

But the most jarring departure by far comes on the final track, “Brandywine Memories,” which brings back the breakbeats and sets them over an almost new age-y, major-key synth pattern. It doesn’t feel remotely black metal, until it does; Sanford eventually reintroduces the harsh guitars and vocals overtop this template, and it actually fits in more seamlessly than you’d expect.

The first time I listened to Tales of Treachery, this song had me at a loss for words. I still don’t really have another reference point for a transition like this. The closest analogue would be [whatever-the-hell-Deafheaven-is-doing-these-days?] but even that feels a degree or two behind what Sanford’s doing to close out this Lammoth album. I can’t even really say whether I like the move or not — only that I’ve struggled to stop thinking about it ever since, which I suppose says even more.

Anyway, give this thing a listen. Whether you care for the stylistic departures or are just here for the black metal, chances are Lammoth’s got something you’ll dig on Tales of Treachery.

Keep it heavy,
—Dan

---

Tales of Treachery will be available July 12, 2024, on Bandcamp (digitally) and via Fiadh Productions (cassette). For more information on Lammoth, visit his Linktree page.