The Wretched End

Inroads

Written by: PP on 05/07/2012 01:19:51

The Wretched End is a black metal supergroup of sorts given that its members include Samoth from Emperor/Zyklon and Nils Fjellström from Dark Funeral. But if you're expecting a band sounding anything remotely like Emperor or Dark Funeral, don't hold your breath, because "Inroads", much like its predecessor "Ominous", is a modern black metal album which also channels influence from blackened death/thrash metal to complete its sound. In other words, it can be seen as an experimental album for the people involved, a project in which they can write and play stuff that probably wouldn't fly for their own bands' fan bases.

Although much of the 'modern' part in modern black metal comes from the great production offered by a Candlelight Records production budget, the combination of the different genres is also a significant part why the band sounds more like 1349 and Behemoth than anything of the shoebox black metal of Dark Funeral, for instance. Let's just put it this way: shredding is The Wretched End's business, and business is damn good. For the duration of the album, the band shreds through death metallish riffs but with a black metal ambiance, always adding in evil and twisted melody where possible. It's a solid and innovative soundscape that's not directly comparable to any one band.

Perhaps the only downside of "Inroads" is its lack of variation as many other reviewers have pointed out. It's basically identical to "Ominous", and what's worse, once you pop on one song, seven songs later you still feel like you're playing the same song over and over again. One exception is "Death By Nature", which is by far the best track on the album. It has the best riff, the best overall composition, and is the kind of track The Wretched End need to write in order to impress. For now, the sameness factor drops at least a grade from an otherwise fine modern black/death metal album.

7

Download: Death By Nature, Tyrant Of The Mountain
For the fans of: 1349, Thy Duskfall, Dew-Scented, Zyklon, Behemoth
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.04.2012
Candlelight Records

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