Post-metal – like it or loathe it the genre is here to stay, and I for one am very pleased it exists, for it is essential to the evolution of metal as is needed in any other genre. Plus, it holds more than enough potential to expose the curmudgeon gatekeepers within our scene who find bands like One With The Riverbed, “too light” to warrant a place on Metal Archives.
The band have one pretty original name and are from the most mysterious places I’ve ever come across: Kalamazoo, Michigan. Metal has taken me to many parts of the world I never envisioned, but a settlement of that name never crossed my mind. So here we have a band with a fascinating sound, hailing from a fascinating place, and have just released their latest studio album which is fascinating to say the least.
Going by their name, you’d expect this to be a nature themed band and OWTR have taken a very common and very deep theme from the worlds of extreme metal and given it a fine branding with their unique sound. If you’re one who loves post black metal or blackgaze, you won’t want to miss out on this one. OWTR have taken the depth of Skogen and Aran by covering the countless mythologies of the forest and mixed the shoegaze of Alcest and the harshness of Amenra, to come away with something that wouldn’t look out of place on a Wolves in the Throne Room release.
I’d say these guys hail from the same area of US black metal as WITTR but without the atmosphere. But even that would be unfair to say as post metal has an atmosphere similar to the blackened atmosphere I have come to love over the years.
Speaking as one who is still relatively new to the post-metal world, I’d recommend this band to anyone who loves nature themed metal and wants to know just how far the musical and thematic boundaries can be pushed by people from all parts of the world.
OWTR are the kind of group I could see playing the likes of Arctangent in years to come, so add their albums to your collection if you want to progress further into the wonderment of post-metal.
(7.5/10 Demitri Levantis)
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