Not enough people are talking about Wode. I mean, not in the sense that they should be word of mouth across the entire music scene but certainly within the confines of the current underground metal scene. Relative newcomers, albeit with two releases already under their belt, they have slowly taken their death metal sound and honed it into something quite interesting.
You might be expecting intense riffs and deep growls but instead the band seem to have latched on to a more old school sound not a million miles away from NWOBHM. Distilled with the dark intensity of death metal, the almost clanking sounds are often reminiscent of a disturbing video nasty. It’s a mix with serves to set them aside, and also allows them to veer off in unexpected directions. The melodic opening of ‘Transmutation’ offsetting the doom-laden growls of previous track ‘Saturn Shadows’. Indeed, as the song persists it almost threatens to become anthemic.
Elsewhere, ‘Prisoner Of The Moon’ ups the ante with a galloping riff, whilst ‘Fiery End’ is head-banging manna which includes some neat progressive little moments. ‘Lash Of The Tyrant’ is almost symphonic in its delivery, a blackened force of nature and possibly the best track here. ‘Phantom’ is an instrumental interlude before ‘Dashed On The Rocks’ aims for the epic, and reaches it in all its manic glory. Tremendous.
So yes, more people need to be talking about Wode, and hopefully Uncrossing The Keys is the album to do it. Feast your ears on the marvels of classic metal delivered under a blackened death metal roar.
