|
Wrath Of The Weak - Alogon (Profound Lore) |
|
Words: Louis Pattison
|
|
The gradual infusion of ambient or ‘shoegaze’ textures into Black Metal makes a weird kind of sense for the genre’s self-contained one-man bands, descendants of Varg Vikernes’ solitary, ascetic vibe for whom plugging in and playing is an impossibility, and studio creativity a necessity. Buffalo, NY’s Wrath Of The Weak is such a band, but Alogon demonstrates that embracing ambiance doesn’t necessarily mean blunting the ferocity of your attack. The likes of ‘What We Learn From Spending 120 Hours In A Downpour’ take galloping drums, roaring guitars and Black Metal’s direct, arrow-like trajectory and smear them together, leaving a sort of acidic brown slurry that sounds like it could melt flesh and dissolve bone. The closing twenty minute epilogue adds some sombre, droning dark ambience, although you can’t help but feel it might be more effective harnessed within the record, rather than dispatched at the end. |
