Wednesday 4 June 2014

Sunwølf - Beholden To Nothing And No One - Album Review

Beholden To Nothing And No One cover art

Album Type:Album
Date Released: June 30th 2014
Label: Self Released

Beholden To Nothing And No One - track listing:

Disc I

1 - In the darkened river I found the silence loom
2- The Widow’s Oil
3 - Vultures Crown
4 – The wake of Leviathan
5 - Thrown into a nameless time
6 – Totem
7 – Beholden to nothing and no one
8 - Heathen’s rest

Disc II

1 – Twelve Sunne
2 - Come, O spirit, dwell among us
3 – Ithaca
4 – Symptoms of Dearth
5 – Lotus Island
6 – Of Darknesse

Review:

Sunwølf return with their 3rd album – Beholden To Nothing and No-One. An two-part album that runs for a mesmerising 84 mins or so.

The 1st part of the album is where Sunwølf experiment with their sound by adding vocals for the very first time. Sunwølf have changed their sound once again. The Stoner Rock vibe of their music is non-existent as Sunwølf have adopted a more volatile and dangerous persona as they blend Neurosis/Isis style Post-Metal/Sludge riffs through out the album.

The 2nd part of the album is the more familiar drone based ambient post rock sounds from earlier Sunwølf albums. It is a haunting 33-minute spell of emotional based music that shows you two different sides to this band. One that is violent and crushingly heavy and the other a beautiful and understated post-rock collective.

So let us talk about the 1st part of the album, which is where Sunwølf truly shine as they venture to places they have not showed the listener before. Tracks such as The Wake Of Leviathan and Thrown Into A Nameless Time perfectly capture the dark brooding transformation that Sunwølf have undertaken on this musical odyssey that Neurosis would be proud to call their own. The instrumental work is intense through out the first part of the album. Sunwølf have perfectly captured the violent mood and energy of a world that is dangerously close to oblivion. Vocals are shouted at you with real purpose and it only adds to the destructive nature of it all.

Now the 2nd part of the album. This is more of the same style of music that Sunwølf created with their earlier albums though they still include the slight hint of Sludge/Post-Metal madness lurking in the background. Ambient Drone based Post-Rock music that plays out like a love letter to Drone and Doom visionaries – Sunn0))) and Earth. It has some beautifully played piano-based ambient moods throughout this part of the album. It can be very mysterious at times as Sunwølf play with your emotions by adding socially aware soundbytes to leave you feeling emotionally cut-off from the world around you.

Sunwølf have delivered an unsettling album with a dark twisted vision that will have you thinking about its hidden meanings for a very long time to come. Ignore Sunwølf’s previous albums, as this is where their future lies. They need to stick with this style of apocalyptic sound as it will take them a very long way indeed.

WOW!!! – Plain and Simple. – WOW!!!

Thanks to Sunwølf for sending me a promo to review. Beholden To Nothing and No-One will be available to buy on CD/DD from June 30th 2014.

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Written by Steve Howe