Despite the title this is actually album number four from Uprising, the rabble rousing project from Winterherz of Waldgeflüster. Personally enjoying album number II but missing the intermediate bridge between this and that, the re-amped and remixed ‘Uprising I.I’ I was keen to hear the new one which has seen the act moving from previous home Wolfsgrimm Records to AOP. Not quite going it alone W is joined here by Austin Lunn of Panopticon on drums and fury and disgust against tyranny are the themes anticipated on the music and highlighted by the striking artwork by Misanthropic Art. Apart from being informed that themes on the album move “from social injustice, to raging hymns advocating climate protection” we are not provided with anything more in depth. Although sung in English the prose are distinguishable to a certain extent but I would have been interested in actually being able to sit down and read the lyrics for more insight. Perhaps they will appear on the liner of the full release.
That aside it’s easy enough to work out the mood and sheer pissed-off’ ness from W’s gargling rasps as we start with the pessimistic ‘Eternal Mantra,’ the title of which makes me think of mankind’s cyclic refusal to learn from past mistakes. Musically it’s a mid-paced wrathful romp of blackened distemper, with the drums pounding away and plenty of melody from the guitar. Even if you can’t quite work out the verse you will notice swear words jumping off the page and atmosphere moves from swaggering to eerie and projects downcast misery courtesy of a gloomy sound-bite. Continuing past themes from other albums we get ‘Uprise III’ which quickly gets hooks in via twirling melody lines and moves vocally into some patches of clean vocal harmonies. There’s a metal backbone to it all and these at times break through via lead work and although not at first, repeated listens add to the catchiness of the work. A sombre quick peel of organ work moves into stormy and aggressive clouds breaking over ‘Raise A Glass.’ One can only surmise this is done so as tribute to those fallen in the pursuit of past insurrections and the tortured screams that screech with unbridled need little in the way of interpretation.
Dire prophecies and the disintegration of society by mankind’s relentless selfish pursuit of greed may well not be the sort of comfortable narrative that everyone wants to fully embrace and they continue being shouted from the rooftops as we move to the flip-side. The guttural full-force punch of ‘A Message To The Hypocrites’ however injects plenty of fist-pumping bravado to this particular song and certainly rallies you to the cause. There’s some interesting pinch harmonics here and although not included on my download review copy it’s worth noting that some versions have a bonus cover of Machine Head’s ‘Ten Ton Hammer’ listed on the release. Those wanting a quick summary of what the “message” contains, the closing elongated screams of “fuck off” say it all. Guitar notes fall from the skies like ashes on ‘While The World Burns’ and the melodicism on this and other times does quite remind of Inquisition. Pure coincidence naturally as politically one can only imagine the two acts being diametrically opposed and frankly I don’t even like mentioning them anymore. Samples about global warming are skilfully entwined within the music and it along with the final song’s message warning to ‘Brace Yourself’ make for a gritty listening experience.
So, an album that should get you thinking, perhaps of things you may not want to confront but essential topics that should not be ignored. Thankfully the shifting template does not allow you to wallow in the doom-saying too much and it’s a work delivered with panache and honest enthusiasm. The end of the world is near and you can join the Uprising at the following links.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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