This is a third album by this death metal outfit comprising members that hail from Sweden, Germany and Finland, for a release teeming with creativity. After a quiet intro section on opener ‘Inferno’ the album utilises a fine fade-in technique that adds drama and a sense of cinematic poise. I particularly appreciated the opaque production style which adds considerable density and impact to all the songs as ‘Ghosts Who Hunt Alone’ continues their affront. With its fine opening and that dramatic styling the song unleashes a grisly doom death shroud.
Parts of the album are bridged by short interludes which do inject a sense of theatre to contrast but it is really the songs that capture what this band is about, as ‘Patriarch’ enhances that substantial opaque delivery with doom laden gruesomeness. Surprisingly far more upbeat is ‘A Feral Swarm’ where the band swagger into death ‘n’ roll territory with good results. After another interlude ‘The Twilight And The Dawn’ brandishes a catchy riff and melodic posture contrasting to the earlier songs to some degree but still oppressively dense. As the vocals take on a far more demonic toning you get a sense that Age Of Woe like their theatrical edge, which they do extremely well.
There are strong hints of mid-era Entombed on ‘Storm’ where that tuneful riffing links into the more raunchy pacing but still packing a hefty wallop that continues with the title track. Being much quicker and possessing a light haunting eeriness the song had me thinking about very early Arch Enemy, i.e. the first three albums. With an epic track to complete the album, ‘Ljungeld’ is far slower offering a more expansive composition with layering of the riffs to produce an atmospheric experience. The tune rarely slithers beyond doom death preferring to surround the listener with colossal density yet embellished with serene guitar work in places.
Age Of Woe continue their fine discography with a third album of emotive passionate doom death laced with melodic weaving that fans of ether genre will fully appreciate.
(8/10 Martin Harris)
Leave a Reply