Writhe | bandcamp |
Released on September 22, 2014 via Bandcamp
Getting this album in my email I was a little reluctant to review it. This band really has little presence on the internet besides what I was given in the press release. So my usual of looking around and finding out what this bands is about was limited to their almost empty Bandcamp site. What I did find is this project is a one man band by John D. Reedy, based in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. Other searches for his other projects didn’t yield much. A lesson to all you new people in bands! So with that I listen to their album and let the music speak for itself…it blew my mind!
Writhe‘s first EP, The Shrouded Grove, is an epic masterpiece of atmospheric black metal. From the email I was given their inspiration was movie soundtracks, which you can sense this is the theme from this EP. The songs are progressive. The first track ‘The Shrouded Grove’ opens with blasting guitars then moves into a more hushed and calming soundscape. It brings raw emotions of cold landscapes, melancholy, and dismal sadness. Writhe packs as much emotion and sound into the tracks, which give it a enormous sound. Then moves into a calming silence of with a haunting female vocal. Really the track is not just a soundtrack to accompany a scene but a story in itself.
The second track, ‘The Slumbering Council’ is the opposite. Opening up with a soft haunting tone and clean guitars. This track reminded me of a dark indie film where the lead character is enveloped in a darkness in themselves and their surroundings. This track is again full of emotion and haunting instrumentals. It progresses into a frenzy and ends with the soft haunting tones and religious like chanting vocals.
I really liked this EP, I really wished that I could have known a little bit more about this project then what I was given. This is a great and masterfully done EP and really should have more. I hope that John really gets involved into this project and gives us more of what is on this EP. It really is a great and well done piece of cinematic and atmospheric black metal.
