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/:: Artist :: Woods of Desolation ::\
:: Album :: Toward the Depths ::
:: Year :: 2022 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: WEB/MP3 . ::
:: Label :: Season of Mist Underground R.date :: 2022-12-06 ::
_::__ Size :: 113.19MB S.date :: 2022-09-09 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: :\
..: Bitrate :: CBR 320kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. .
https://deezer.com/album/350159017
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
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/:: ::\
:: ::
:: ::
:: 1. Toward the Depths 7:14 ::
:: 2. They Will Never Leave Their Tormentor 5:57 ::
:: 3. When the Frost Comes Falling Down... 10:11 ::
:: 4. Solitude (Part II) 1:56 ::
:: 5. A Time of Eternal Darkness 4:49 ::
:: 6. Woods of Desolation 10:27 ::
:: 7. Outro 6:31 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 47:05 ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Entering into the fray next is a collaboration between an ::
:: Australia, whoÆs multi-dimensional influence on this band, ::
:: named Woods of Desolation, is unparalleled and an Englishman, ::
:: assumedly, whoÆs take on the raw sub-genre of black metal, in ::
:: the past, has left me dumbfounded. My only previous experience ::
:: with these two musicians is with the British entity, Emit, ::
:: whoÆs chaotic and deservedly named raw style was brash, ::
:: explosive and most of all, inaccessible. In the general sense ::
:: of the word, IÆm a huge fan of black metal. I have been since I ::
:: started listening to metal many moons ago and still am, to this ::
:: day. However, there are certain sections of black metal that I ::
:: find hard to stomach - raw black metal being one of them. As ::
:: IÆve heard the Emit full-length, which was shamelessly ::
:: inaccessible for reasons unknown, I entered into this abyss ::
:: with a degree of apprehension. Thankfully however, this ::
:: apprehension was to be consumed by the hungry devil that is the ::
:: desire of the band to portray a much more accessible style of ::
:: raw black metal which could even appeal to novices in this ::
:: sub-genre like me. ::
:: ::
:: There are however, a number of differences between this and the ::
:: associated band Emit, whoÆs chaotic branch of music failed to ::
:: breech my pleasure barriers which remained in tact like the ::
:: best flood defence system in the world. Emit were a slow stream ::
:: high up in the mountain tops, left largely undiscovered by ::
:: obscurity, in comparison to this full-flowing, raging river ::
:: whoÆs boughs stretch out into the eternity, picking up people ::
:: all along the way with its fast currents and recruiting them as ::
:: fans with its emotional tidings. Wave after wave æToward The ::
:: DepthsÆ, the debut full-length, hitÆs the listener repeatedly ::
:: in the face with such force one would think theyÆre being ::
:: handed their ass on a plate by the devil himself. This ::
:: intolerant record, surprisingly, leans more towards other style ::
:: of black metal, than it does towards the raw sub-genre that it ::
:: proclaims to adhere to. Once again, the description of ::
:: ôdepressive black metalö has reared its head and branded Woods ::
:: of Desolation, whoÆs name fits perfectly onto the list of ::
:: depressive bands, with a hot poker stick. This will instantly ::
:: turn some people off, leading them to assume this is another ::
:: typical band, within another stereotypical sub-genre which is ::
:: ruled by untalented masses of the worlds most na∩ve and ::
:: youthful males. Typically, this area of black metal has become ::
:: riddled with bands whoÆs appeal is limited to the bedroom, ::
:: rather than a worldwide scale. ::
:: ::
:: I hate to point fingers, but bands like Ancestral and Wedard ::
:: have been singled out for their shameless self-promotion and ::
:: dwindling bedroom style which sees a lack of creativity and ::
:: inaccessible production values tear their prospective positive ::
:: opinion of the formerly enthused listener to pieces and the ::
:: listener himself down to a shadow of him, or her former self. ::
:: Enthusiasm has never had much of a home here, in this ::
:: depressive world, but its something a lot of us experience upon ::
:: entering into a seemingly faultless setting where, surely, the ::
:: band can do no wrong. The sub-genre began so brightly in its ::
:: dark tales of woe. The opinion of the founders is still a much ::
:: coveted discussion, but besides debates on who exactly started ::
:: what and when, the majority of people rise as one to express ::
:: their shared beliefs that this genre once had a stable ::
:: background, an upbringing that was moving steadily in the right ::
:: direction, but now, all that is left, is decay and rot. In this ::
:: modern day world, it would seem that a band has to offer ::
:: something diverse to the sub-genre in order to be deemed worthy ::
:: of inclusion into the hall of the fame. Being a direct ôcloneö ::
:: will not bring success like it did to bands like Trivium ::
:: because this is an area that is considered off-limits to the ::
:: general public and savoured only for those manic enough to ::
:: search for it. ::
:: ::
:: However, being the facetious bunch that we are, we expect ::
:: miracles and even when bands do offer diversity by the shed ::
:: load, we want more. Bands like the recently immerging PensΘes ::
:: Nocturnes are precisely what I mean by this. Here is a band who ::
:: fuses classical with depressive black metal and still, its ::
:: considered ôtoo out thereö for the tastes of most. We donÆt ::
:: want clones and we donÆt want diversity, so what do we fickle ::
:: bunch want? Straight edged depressive black metal? No thrills, ::
:: just good old repetition and emotion intertwined with ::
:: atmosphere? Well, here we have it. Woods of Desolation arenÆt ::
:: the perfect example of such music, but like fellow Australian ::
:: band Austere, theyÆre certainly moving in the right direction ::
:: as far as the future is concerned. This two piece band is often ::
:: monotonous and repetitive, but with it comes a convoluted style ::
:: that sees emotional complexities flow out of the sparse ::
:: acoustics and audible bass segments that prophesise a coming ::
:: apocalypse that we should all have expected and that we should ::
:: all fear. The outro is a good example of such with a fixation ::
:: of complex moods and dark tones as the bass and acoustics flow ::
:: simultaneously. This is where diversity breeches the ordinary ::
:: as Woods of Desolation like to mix things up from time to time ::
:: by intricately fusing modern day techniques (experimentation) ::
:: with olden day formulas (repetition). When I think of this ::
:: band, my mind rushes back a few thousand miles to the Czech ::
:: Republic and to the delightful melancholy of Trist. ::
:: ::
:: The two have a number of similarities and neither really abides ::
:: by the raw sub-genre that one of them, at least, is supposedly ::
:: meant to do. Understandably, the raw tag is given because of ::
:: those whirlwind guitars, whoÆs blasphemous impact is fast paced ::
:: and striking, but it doesnÆt really live up to its raw ::
:: description. I find the guitars to fit more tightly into the ::
:: depressive side of things, whilst leaning slightly towards ::
:: ambient in the emotive atmospheres that work alongside the ::
:: instrumentation within the largely formulaic soundscapes. The ::
:: title track is a good representation of what to expect from ::
:: this band. The collaboration between the bass and the guitars ::
:: is definitely a sign that this band is more suited to the ::
:: depressive style, than the raw. Slow moving bass sections ::
:: alongside faster tremolo guitars segments, with the mid-paced ::
:: percussion placed subtly into the middle. Songs like this, even ::
:: with the vocal depiction that reminds me of the obscure, but ::
:: ever-so-talented Life Is Pain, whoÆre unfortunately defunct ::
:: now, point us onto possible roads of influence. As we pick up ::
:: and shift through the gears, weÆre taken to the debut by ::
:: Austere, Trist epics like æZrcadlenφ MelancholieÆ and other ::
:: notables bands such as Eindig and Vorkuta. Although this ::
:: doesnÆt live up to the brutality and honesty of the emotionally ::
:: driven æZrcadlenφ MelancholieÆ, it is a decent effort within ::
:: this dilapidated field. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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