Band: Widower
Title: Cataclysmic Sorcery
Label: Black Market Metal Label
Country: USA
Release date: May 24, 2019
Format reviewed: (VBR) mp3 promo
If I am to use just one word to describe WIDOWER's forthcoming full-length debut effort, "Cataclysmic Sorcery", that word would be "density". Density of compositions, density of guitar riffs, density of drumming ... if you catch my drift. This album ranks in quality with some great efforts, in the same blackened thrash metal vein, of the last few years: Hexecutor "Poison, Lust and Damnation" (2016), BlackEvil "The Ceremonial Fire" (2017), and AntiChrist "Sinful Birth" (2017), among a few others. And that speaks volumes.
WIDOWER formed in Austin, Texas, in 2011, and went on to release a demo and a series of EP, in the years since their inception, with just a couple of minor lineup changes. The quartet, in its current formation: Jimmy Byam (guitar, vocals), Danny Wrath (guitars, vocals), Jake Holmes (bass, vocals) & Sterling Junkin (drums), recorded the band's first full-length studio release.
The intensity of the hellfire delivered by "Cataclysmic Sorcery" is simply unstoppable! An indisputable death metal edge is added to the incendiary blackened thrash metal that the band has become well known for, in the deepest circles of the underground. During my time spent auditioning this nine-track hellstorm, I've attempted to count the number of riff and rhythm changes: I've lost count at every attempt. In a very intelligent manner, the Texans, managed to throw into the mix everything (and including the hell's kitchen sink) pertaining stylistically to the common theme of the album. Admittedly, it took a few repetitive listening sessions to absorb all of the (many) creative nuances available. Listeners should not expect some mid-tempo murky sounding mundane melodies ... far from it. "Cataclysmic Sorcery" unleashes an unrelenting battery of rapid-fire drumming, dueling guitar harmonies, tortured screams and pummeling thrash rhythms!
With sadistic intensity, WIDOWER blur the lines of black metal, death and thrash, on their debut opus, "Cataclysmic Sorcery". An album sure to please the most ardent members of the extreme metal community, headbangers, and all sorcerers seeking cataclysmic consequences. As for the rest ... if you can't stand the fire ... get out of the (hell's) kitchen! Highly recommended. 9/10
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Black Market Metal Label
© 2019 by Emil Chiru