By: Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full
Length
Date Released: 25/05/2018
Label: Profound
Lore Records
On “World’s Blood” Wayfarer
rises to be more transcendent than many of its contemporaries in the execution
of its new album and overall there is so much to appreciate on this Colorado act's return. "World's Blood" is a dazzling listen
“World’s Blood” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Animal Crown
2. On Horseback They Carried Thunder
3. The Crows Ahead Cry War
4. The Dreaming Plain
5. A Nation Of Immigrants
The Review:
The beauty and bestial of black metal is that it is
today an expansive metal subgenre. At its best, there is something truly gauzy,
conceptually original and aurally memorable records. However, there is plenty
on the scene that is at times too derivative (first wave throwback movements,
anyone?), audacious and over-the-top in a way that can mask musical
deficiencies. Goat and pentagram iconography, and too much flourish – literal
and figurative – on song titles and imagery, can only carry any band so far. In
its most cringeworthy moments, there are more than a few unintentional parodies
of black metal.
Fortunately enough, Wayfarer rises to be more
transcendent than many of its contemporaries in the execution of its new album,
"World's Blood."
The Denver
band has been reliable thus far in its output, producing an LP every two years
or so. 2014's "Children of the Iron
Age" was well received by fans and critics. There might have been a
touch too much self-importance early on. Folk and atmospheric metal together
can be a bit tiring at turns. And the overlong tracks and intricate
storytelling may have felt out of place at first. As you settle in with the
band, though, you get a strong sense that Wayfarer is devoted to creating an experience.
There are many bands that arguably try to do the same. Wayfarer's iconoclastic approach
deserves a deeper look, though.
On "World's
Blood," Wayfarer provides a sound informed by a mélange of styles.
Black metal, doom and hints of sludge are central to the album. What makes it
most fascinating, though, is identifying the disparate inspirations. "Animal Crown" begins the recording
with a flash of spaghetti Western romp. There's immediacy to the noisier
guitars and rhythm section as the first track builds, with a pained vocal
wafting just above it all. The liner notes remark of how the band sought to
represent aptly the Western frontier that is part of its experience.
Inescapable to that tale is a picture of loss. Rarely has it been so stunningly
felt.
The band excels when its orchestration reaches an
almost polyrhythmic instance on songs like "On Horseback They Carried Thunder." What feels at first like
chaos rewards you as the song crests into a beautiful hybrid of black metal, where
pensive pacing strains just below the surface. Where it once drew out tracks
possibly a bit too much, Wayfarer's selection and overall production
this time offer a new focus. This attention to little things as well as major
arcs makes for a more sophisticated album than ever before. With "The Crows Ahead Cry War,"
thundering drums threaten from a distance. The balance between measured and
frenzied is a gorgeous tension you feel again and again on "World's Blood."
That flume of shot-a-man-in-Reno dirty Americana vibe peeks its
head out at the start of "The
Dreaming Plain," before laying waste into a mad sound space. "A Nation of Immigrants" flits past
this inspiration too, in a divergent manner. In all, "World's Blood" is a dazzling listen. One of their best? That's
up to longtime fans to judge, but undoubtedly there is so much to appreciate in
the Colorado
act's return.
“World’s Blood” is
available here
