WOODS OF DESOLATION — Sorh (review)

WOODS OF DESOLATION — Sorh album cover EP · 2009 · Atmospheric Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Vehemency
After Austere ventured to somewhat unnecessarily clean grounds on their last effort To Lay Like Old Ashes, it is a pure pleasure to discover a band like Woods of Desolation that utilizes the best parts of lo-fi, depressive black metal. This is, at least, the case with their 2009 EP entitled Sorh, as I’ve heard that the upcoming second full-length shows a slight change of direction in Woods of Desolation’s sound too. While waiting for that album with dread (yeah, I always have my dystopic doubts), let’s delve into the reverby, fuzzy landscapes of Sorh.

As the previous adjectives implied, this EP is really droney due to the extremely foggy production. You can barely hear the drums - only slower beats can be easily distinguished by the accenting bass kicks and snare hits - but that doesn’t matter, as the backbone to the music are the mesmerizing, melancholic tremolo melodies and distant, blurry screams. Everything is dream-like, almost non-moving, soothing. Think of Austere’s debut Withering Illusions and Desolation, this is very close to that in all departments, albeit the ethereal atmosphere is even a level higher on Sorh.

The static production that roars like a vacuum has its downsides, too, as it’s harder to find any specifically grabbing moments from any of the four tracks presented. Listening to Sorh is like a dive into another world where everything is pleasing but nothing really stands out: hence this EP is ideal to get for its convincingly sorrowful atmosphere alone. Recommended not only for depressive black metal fans but for also those who show even a slight interest in the subgenre, because Woods of Desolation seems to be among the best acts in its category in recent years.
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