Helpfully, we are given points of reference for this debut album by Greek band Wothrosch. The reference points are the soundscape of SepticFlesh running into the fury of Anaal Nathrakh.
So armed with this information, it came as no surprise to hear crushingly leaden-heavy tones and ferocious roars. “Child” and indeed the album as a whole is like the re-enactment of a juggernaut marching through a city and crushing buildings on its way. The tempo changes don’t really add anything, such is the overwhelming heaviness, but the echoes and sinister, almost cinematic progression do. The unadulterated heaviness and sound violence continue. It sounds like the band members of Wothrosch are having fun, screaming and roaring horribly. The wall of sound, or perhaps more accurately, the wall of suffering and death are put up as the drums beat our brains out. “Disease” is more attritional and to a point funereal, creeping forward in its ugly black metal way before expanding into a menacing zone of chaos, power and destruction. “Sinner” then pounds away at us. We hear a ghastly cacophony of noises. Deep roars depicting the suffering are superimposed onto the funeral hammering. Strangely it was the toning down at the end after 8 minutes of being pounded into the ground which I found most effective, and felt it could have gone on a bit longer and played with our senses rather than being the means to the end.
Slabs of heaviness habitually fall from the sky, none more so than “Purge”. Hugely atmospheric, it drills a hole in the floor and surrounds in in an envelope of thunderous, uncompromising darkness. The chain gang is at work on “Odium” as the murders and blood-letting continue. The winds pick up and the heavy, dismal scene expands into a world of epic suffering. The black fury of “Mass” (featuring Niklas Kvarforth of Shining) reminded me strongly of Behemoth, as evil clouds surround us. From the spoken word we enter breath-taking, turbulent chaos. Again as on “Sinner”, the ending could have given rise to a new wave with which to strangle our senses. But on we go, and we enter the dark and fiery gloom of the final piece “Reign”. It progresses chunkily and in the usual imperious fashion. It’s chaos which reigns, but it’s packaged in a black post-metal frame. Violent extremity and yet more suffering fill the frame we are hit hard by another monstrous slab signalling authority and dominance. It’s impressive but then so is this album.
Here lie strength and power, and plenty of it. The journey takes us through many very dark and sinister places. “Odium” is without mercy or compromise, so my advice is not to expect any.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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