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░ ██ ██ Artist: Wijlen Wij ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Coronachs of the Omega █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2014 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-02-07 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Solitude Productions ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Since I rather enjoyed Wijlen Wij's debut I was █
█ exited to see what their sophomore had in store. █
█ My hopeful sentiments were in vain, as this is a █
█ bigger disappointment than I could ever imagine. █
█ One quick skim through Coronachs Of The O and I █
█ thought so they're trying way too hard to create █
█ an expansive album and ended up just making a █
█ hopeless mess. One attentive listen to the whole █
█ album and I was longing for more of these █
█ so-called expansive passages. If anything, funeral █
█ doom is a genre that is very hard to fuck up. █
█ However, they somehow manage to do so here. This █
█ goes beyond being merely boring; slogging through █
█ this cesspool of monotony is a challenge that █
█ should be reserved for only the bravest of souls. █
█ Upon hearing the first song, "Boreas", it becomes █
█ apparent that this isn't going to be █
█ straightforward funeral doom. No, Wijlen Wij are █
█ going to add to the overall formula; clean vocals, █
█ piano, acoustic guitar - you know the drill. They █
█ try their hardest to be expansive with no real █
█ idea of how to do so in a way that furthers the █
█ development of the album. These parts don't work █
█ with the ebb and flow of the album. The non-metal █
█ passages just seem like they were thrown in after █
█ the fact and don't work towards any greater █
█ vision. The tone on the organ is particularly █
█ suspect. An Old World orthodox tone would have █
█ worked tremendously well, but instead what we get █
█ is a goofy carnivalesque sound that is completely █
█ ill suited to the album. Let's talk about the █
█ clean vocals for a second. It's hard to tell what █
█ they were thinking, but saying including them was █
█ a bad call would be the understatement of the █
█ century. They are weak, limp and ultimately █
█ pathetic. They have absolutely no business being █
█ on an extreme metal album, but yet here they are. █
█ If the expansive parts were suspect, the actual █
█ metal parts easily push into the realm of the █
█ egregious. Tedious doesn't begin to describe it. █
█ It almost seems like they thought they could get █
█ away with completely inane riffs because maybe no █
█ one will notice because we're playing so slow. █
█ Nope, these are just awful. They sound as if they █
█ were made up on the spot. The tone on the rhythm █
█ guitar isn't particularly good. Certainly nothing █
█ that will draw you into the atmosphere. While it █
█ doesn't border on staccato or anything like that, █
█ there is this stomping plod quality to the guitar █
█ and the notes aren't sustained for long enough, █
█ leaving sections between notes that feel empty. █
█ The lead guitar can only be described as lame and █
█ immediately forgettable. You know that really █
█ awesome bittersweet, seasick type of lead that █
█ works so well in funeral doom? Nothing of the sort █
█ here. The leads have two things in common with the █
█ rhythm guitar: they seem like they were made up on █
█ the spot and the tone isn't very good. █
█ In total, this breaches an hour by two minutes. █
█ However, Coronachs Of The O easily feels double █
█ that. There are two songs here that make it to the █
█ seventeen minute mark. You could cut seven minutes █
█ off that and it would still be impossible to █
█ justify the length. This record just drags on and █
█ on, acting more as a test of endurance than a █
█ listening experience. The non-metal parts are █
█ completely unnecessary and the metal parts are █
█ much worse than unnecessary. Best move along, █
█ people. There are much greener pastures. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Wijlen Wij took their sweet time releasing their █
█ sophomore album 'Coronachs of the O'. The question █
█ now is; was it worth the wait? After repeated █
█ listens to this the answer is both "kinda" leaning █
█ towards "no". █
█ Questions are immediately raised when about █
█ halfway through the first song 'Pressure' by █
█ Anathema (A Fine Day to Exit era) comes to mind. █
█ It's hard to say why Wijlen Wij decided to add a █
█ decidedly prevalent rock influence (to both the █
█ song and the album) to their already amazing mix █
█ but it doesn't do anything positive for their █
█ sound. █
█ Of the sound in general a few things are of note. █
█ Firstly the guitars (thankfully) aren't as fuzzy █
█ as they were on the first album, but the bass is █
█ ridiculously high in the mix. There are some █
█ strong pure funeral elements throughout the █
█ psychedelic hippy dippy aspects that seems to be █
█ Kostas' ever growing obsession are jammed in █
█ between. Making no sense and pretty much ruining █
█ the songs. Apparently Kostas wasn't content with █
█ ruining Pantheist and thus had to branch in to his █
█ other band. █
█ The vocals, provided by Lawrence van Haecke, are a █
█ mixed bag at best. His grows are beastly and █
█ awesome but his cleans are laughable. Dude sounds █
█ like he should be singing in some obscure folk act █
█ in the American south. █
█ The instrumentation is a step up from the first █
█ album. The drums are much tighter and the █
█ keyboards are more than just chorded, droning, █
█ organ dirges. Good for the drums, bad for the █
█ keyboards. The bass obnoxiously drown out the █
█ guitar in some places. The actual doom parts are █
█ pretty damn good for what it's worth. Had they █
█ simply stuck to this formula this album would █
█ probably have been in the running for top ten of █
█ 2014. █
█ There's no real darkness or depth to the music. So █
█ what do we have here after all is said and done? A █
█ faster paced, slightly better produced slice of █
█ doom with some really bad blending of two █
█ substances akin to water and oil. Some things just █
█ aren't meant to be blended and 60's rock and █
█ funeral doom are two of those things. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. ...Boreas 8:32 ░
░ 2. Die Verwandlung 17:23 ░
░ 3. Laying Waste to the City of Jerusalem 11:13 ░
░ 4. A Solemn Ode to Ruin... 17:44 ░
░ 5. From the Periphery 6:49 ░
░ 61:41 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
■ █▄ ░ ██
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