This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include reviews of albums from Cwfen, Death Rattle, Drifter, Low Before The Breeze, Obsidian Tongue, Rivers Of Nihil, Swans, Vader, Vildhjarta, Wald Krypta, Weeping Sores and Wolves At The Gate.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Cwfen – Sorrows (New Heavy Sounds)
Formed less than two years ago, the Scottish band Cwfen (pronounced “coven”) emerge with their debut album Sorrow.
Doom is the band’s core sound, but they expand it to include elements of gothic, post-punk and shoegaze. The songs move at a deliberate to mid-tempo pace and have a melancholy vibe.
With most tracks in the five-to-seven-minute range, there’s plenty of time for twists and turns and shift in tempo and texture. Agnes Alder’s impressive vocals run the gamut from a mellow croon to passionate singing to spoken word to harsh growls. The juxtaposition of intense metal and mellower moments makes for an interesting sonic journey. Sorrows serves notice that Cwfen are a band on the rise.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Death Rattle – The Moral Chokehold (M-Theory)
It has been a while since we’ve heard from New England groovers Death Rattle. Formed in 2009, they independently released two albums in 2012 and 2017. Slowed down by the pandemic, they finally return, signed with M-Theory Audio for their third album The Moral Chokehold.
The tight songwriting is evidence that the lengthy time spent creating the album was put to good use. The songs are heavy and aggressive with catchy riffs making things more accessible. The vocals are generally harsh, but clean singing on tracks like “Nietzche, and the Fall” and “Social War Machine” ease them into melodic death metal territory. The Moral Chokehold is a welcome return for Death Rattle, and their strongest album to-date.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Drifter – Grigori (Thoughtcrime)
There are a few different bands named Drifter, including a couple in the post-metal/sludge genre. This version of Drifter hail from Lawrence, Kansas, and their latest album is Grigori.
Their style pays homage to bands like Isis to Neurosis along with establishing their own musical path. The trio writes songs that are lengthy and dynamic, with many in the 7-to-9-minute range. Tracks like “Catalyst Tongues” and “Dead Sea Teeth” shift from peaceful to heavy and back again, with numerous ebbs and flows within each composition. There are lengthy instrumental sections punctuated by vocals that are gruff but melodic. Grigori requires patience to fully absorb, but it’s well worth spending the time to do so.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Low Before The Breeze – A Hole Beneath The Home We Shared (Terminus City Hate)
The voices inside the heads of the members of Low Before The Breeze are demanding satisfaction by twisting their minds into depraved places. Between the various noise interludes and unwavering feedback, A Hole Beneath The Home We Shared is purposefully unpleasant. Songs trace through personal traumas that seem to pile on top of each other, one worse than the last.
The closest the band comes to a cathartic release is on closer “Permission To Rest.” Sandwiched between the craziest riffs they have saved up is a blissful lull in the music, though the placid guitars are interrupted by a constant buzz in the background. Because for Low Before The Breeze, even when they try to be at ease, an uncomfortable sense of danger is always hovering close by.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Obsidian Tongue – Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn (Profound Lore)
The black metal duo Obsidian Tongue issued both the EP The Stone Heart and the four track Live 2024 last year. They quickly follow that up with their fourth full-length, Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn.
Over the years the band’s approach has become more progressive and psychedelic, without losing the aggression and vibe of black metal. The album gets off to a heavy start with “Orphaned Spiritual Warrior” and “Snakeskin Tunnel Colony” with the extremity front and center. Atmospherics and forays into prog and psych are more evident on numbers like the title track and “To Forgive Oneself,” which includes melodic vocals. Obsidian Tongue are skilled in writing dynamic and varied songs, and have done it once again with Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Rivers Of Nihil – Rivers Of Nihil (Metal Blade)
Rivers Of Nihil have had many ups and downs in their career. We all know about the success of Where Owls Know My Name, but also the mixed reception of The Work, which is part of what makes Rivers Of Nihil so intriguing. The band has dialed back the more commercial tendencies of their previous effort and is now trying to strike a balance between their harsher, more progressive sound and the more accessible side of their music.
It’s still as complex as ever, but the band shows greater confidence and experience with the style. That’s not to say there aren’t strange moments that might take some time to get used to, or that the production isn’t still as loud as ever. At this point, it seems to have become a love-it-or-hate-it matter. Rivers Of Nihil clearly favor this compressed sound, but they still deliver exciting, technical death metal.
Rating: 3.5
(Carlos Tirado)
Swans – Birthing (Young Gods)
The experimental rock band Swans have been plying their trade since the early ’80s, with Michael Gira the only consistent member over the decades. According to Gira, their latest album Birthing will be the last to focus on what he calls all-consuming sound worlds, with future releases more pared down.
The seven songs on the album clock in at nearly two hours, with a couple cracking the 20-minute mark. From the laid-back opener “The Healers” to the dramatic “I Am A Tower” to the uplifting title track, there’s something interesting and different with every song. There’s not much heaviness to be found on Birthing, but fans of Swans’ avant-garde style will find themselves immersed in the album. Others may not have the patience to search for the high points in such a long release.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Vader – Humanihility (Nuclear Blast)
It has been five years since the legendary Polish death metal band Vader released their last full-length album, Solitude In Madness. Humanihility is a three-song EP that flies by in about nine minutes.
They are typical Vader death/thrash songs with brisk tempos, brutality and melody. Opener “Genocide Designed” gallops out of the gate with catchy riffs before the vocals kick in. “Rampage” is an apt title, pushing the tempo into the red and not taking a breath for the two-minute run time that even manages to slip in a blazing guitar solo. Closer “Unbending” cranks up up the groove and is the EP’s best song. Humanihility is a solid stopgap as Vader fans await the band’s next full-length.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Vildhjarta – Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar (Century Media)
For their third album Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar, which translates to “Where the forest sings under the eternal spruce trees,” Swedish progsters Vildhjarta have consolidated their lineup. They are now a trio, though founding guitarist Daniel Bergstrom contributed to the songwriting on one track before his departure.
Vildhjarta’s style of prog incorporates plenty of djent with down-tuned riffs and polyrhythms. Mellow interludes on tracks like “tva vackra svanar” and “dar mossan monter havet” provide a brief respite before the intensity ratchets back up. While there are a few expansive songs like “sargasso,” most of the tracks are compact while still incorporating an ample dose of prog. Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar is a wide-ranging and compelling release, exactly what you’d expect from Vildhjarta.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Wald Krypta – Disenchantment (Eternal Death)
Disenchantment, the fourth album by the Canadian/American duo Wald Krypta, is a raw, atmospheric black metal album that immerses the listener in a world of bleak minimalism and lo-fi aesthetics. The record’s dissonant riffs and eerie ambient textures intertwine to create a sense of desolation that is both haunting and captivating. The distant, anguished vocals and cavernous production pay homage to second-wave black metal, while Wald Krypta’s introspective, brooding edge sets them apart from simple nostalgia.
Wald Krypta have made a significant leap on Disenchantment, crafting a more dynamic, riff-centric album with less sluggish pacing that makes it a more engaging listen. However, the songs still share similar melodies and structure, making it challenging to distinguish them from one another. Nevertheless, for diehard fans of unpolished, mood-driven black metal, Disenchantment is a treasure with its cold, uncompromising allure. For others, it may not be easy to make a lasting impression.
Rating: 3
(Arash Khosronejad)
Weeping Sores – The Convalescence Agonies (I, Voidhanger)
The Convalescence Agonies is the second album from melancholic death/doom group Weeping Sores. It’s been about six years since their last record, and that time was fraught with personal struggles for the band members. They take that pain and bare it for the world to see, making lines like “A frost shall set upon/This lonely, bitter fool” cut deep. There’s a prevalent death metal swing to the album, with urgency that was not always on False Confession.
The violin on their debut has been replaced by a cello, which is just as effective in portraying the mournful class of their music. Keyboards also make their presence known, and both of them have substantial roles in the 14-minute closing title track. Weeping Sores have found their way through inner turmoil by laying it out for a listener to join in their anguish.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Wolves At The Gate – Wasteland (Solid State)
Christian metal tends to be an oxymoron in the scene, but Wolves At The Gate have managed to maintain their hardcore style throughout the years and into their sixth album Wasteland.
At first listen you don’t even notice that the band is even a Christian metal band. With a sound that is almost on par with early Bring Me The Horizon with tracks like “Parasite” and “Death Clock” it’s easy to assume that this is just another hardcore metal band. When compared to the rest of their discography, Wasteland checks off all the boxes that they are known for, and they’ve managed to maintain that early 2000s feel to their music all these years later.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
