If the words speed, strength, satanism, short songs and heftiness are what draw you towards a new album or artist then Wratheon from the USA are one you might not want to overlook.
Their debut release: Becoming Nil, is one 30-minute tome that gave this critic some hope for the world of blackened thrash metal, one that I’ve not heard a great deal of fun material from in quite a while. Now that could just be me focusing too much on other genres but blackened thrash is a source of musical strength just like any other and it is good to hear a very promising debut from a band who’ve been burning their audible pyre for a few years now.
Becoming Nil effectively does as the title suggests: all out nihilism set to some of the fastest and primitive black metal with all the chords that wouldn’t look out of place on a Legion of the Damned release. It pulls no punches in sending the listener on a roller-coaster thrill ride into the abyss populated by all things satanic or capable of giving a churchgoer a hernia.
It is also good to see the band giving subtle nods to the influences as I saw with the track “Bathory” as well as keeping the memory of the notorious killer alive. Wratheon know when the use the right blast beats, the right lyrics and speeding shreds in order to capture the hearts and minds of the wide range of metal fans who would dig this album.
A very promising debut and I look forward to hearing what they put out next, one very good job overall.
(8/10 Demitri Levantis)
Leave a Reply