Expect a tightly-woven tapestry of the following:
- Melody: Right from the intro, The Wake make it apparent that they’re prone to end up on the melodic, slightly melancholy side of the black metal spectrum. This continues on into the first real track, but a one-trick pony these guys are not.
- Blasting: Cornerstones of the genre are not neglected here; holy crap, do they blast. The drumming reminds me of Apostasy/Evangelion era Behemoth. Pretty awesome.
- Shredding: “Lost Paintings” highlights a no-nonsense approach with some straight-forward, super catchy riff action and d-beat drumming. By this point they’ve already shown mid-pace and hyperspeed modes; this is another most welcome ingredient.
- Wailing: Rather frequently, the lead guitar will rear its head and deliver glorious, squealing cries fit to make you weep. Occasional solos are icing on the cake.
Anyone into modern black metal who doesn’t need it to get all avant-garde should give this a go.
Link: Toilet Ov Hell