Through the Dank Pale Gravelands

A professional studio release here from Perth’s Wardaemonic pleases the ear with a fine production and a devastating performance throughout. Displaying a fondness for past masters such as Mayhem, Immortal and Angelcorpse with splashes of melody in the Sweedish BM vein, Wardaemonic, nonetheless are recognisably Australian. There is something about the relentless blasting attack and the baritone guitar sounds and the occasional death metal constructs that remind me of Aussie War Metal machines that have thundered by in the past.

Overall the album has a greater sense of progression and flow to it than the often angular or suffocating textures of the aforementioned artists. Those looking for redefinitions of the genre, will probably be disappointed. Wardemonic do not strive to push the envelope, preferring to reaffirm aesthetic canons in a solid, self-assured manner given to experienced practitioners the Black Metal arts.

After a short synthesizer introduction the album begins at a frantic pace of the blastbeat. Soon the vocals appear on the stage and will perhaps surprise some as they did myself. From what I have heard the singer Old delivered a commanding live performance, but here his voice creaks and whispers around the edges of the mix. It may take time getting use to, but it does create a unique haunting feeling of the album being narrated by a ghost. SVRT666’s vocal input is soon to follow – and takes the form of desperate banshee shrieks of the sinners Impact Winter. Later on in the album the two perform a blood-curdling duet. As the music breaks into the occasional moment of acoustic or synthesizer tranquil, the band resumes and waves of surging black noise wash over the souls of the damned. The sparse use of synthesizers complements the buzz-saw guitars and clear, finger-picked bass very well. The overall effect is of menacing, black evil and ghoulish nocturnal nefaria sweeping an unreal landscape very fittingly illustrated in the cover art. This album if allowed to grow on you will reveal a deep atmospheric perspective into nightmarish realms.

Favourite songs for me are: “Voice from the Winds” & “Winds of Hate” – a standout classic track.