WOE — Quietly, Undramatically (review)

WOE — Quietly, Undramatically album cover Album · 2010 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
J-Man
Talk about a misleading album title! "Quietly" and "undramatically" aren't exactly the first words that spring to mind when I think of this album. Quietly, Undramatically is dominated by chaotic blastbeat-drumming, lo-fi vocals, and plenty of noisy guitar work. This is modern black metal in its rawest, purest form - if you're looking for a recent black metal album that's absolutely filthy in its execution and chaotic in its songwriting, this definitely isn't a bad place to turn. Woe may have some kinks to work out before completely winning over this reviewer, but this is a strong effort that is one of the best I've heard from the Philadelphia-area black metal scene.

Considering that Woe is a band known for rejecting black metal clichés (corpse paint, fake names, etc.), it's surprising that their music is a fairly standard old school black metal affair. That's not a bad thing at all (for me, at least), but I find it a bit ironic considering Woe's notoriety for rejecting the traditional black metal stereotypes. I guess the band's originality lies in their significant distance from most of the modern black metal pioneers. This album sounds like it could've come straight from the early 90's - the influences from the early Norwegian black metal scene is simply unavoidable. There are also touches of more avant-influenced bands like Blut Aus Nord or Deathspell Omega. I love the Woe's raw, balls-out attitude; it's rare to come across a black metal band nowadays that embraces such an unpolished sound. Quietly, Undramatically will take a few listens to sink in due to its dissonance and overall brutal sound; only a few melodic sections grabbed me from first listen. The raw, unpolished (but still great-sounding) production can also make the first listen a bit underwhelming.

Although I wasn't completely blown away by Quietly Undramatically (unlike most black metal fans), it's still a strong and highly recommendable effort from Woe. They're one of America's strongest modern old-school black metal exports, and that certainly shouldn't go unnoticed. People who like their black metal to be raw and filthy, but still have a touch of melody every now and again should enjoy this one. 3.5 stars are well-deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Rise of the Black Fang Metalcore
KILLGRAVE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Die for Us Technical Death Metal
WEREWOLVES
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

ScapeGoat Official Lyric Video
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
FireFlame - The Last Ride (Official Video)
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Fervence - Hezekiah (Official Music Video)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Fervence - The Silent Wall
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
Fervence - Corrosion (Visualizer)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 12 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed