“What’s this? Joe tackling a black metal band he’s never listened to before?” What can I say folks? Sometimes I like to live dangerously. Granted, when my ol’ pal Dave at Earsplit PR sent Wode my way, I asked myself, “Has he ever steered me wrong before?” And after a couple minutes of soul searching, gazing out my bedroom window, and cracking my knuckles, I came to the conclusion: “Nope, not yet at least. Why would he now?” Indeed, why WOULD he now? My fellow “industry people” are well aware that, when it comes to black metal, I’m pickier than a child with a plate of broccoli in front of them. Surely, Wode has something more to offer, and indeed they do.
Hailing from England (not the first location that comes to mind when it comes to black metal), Wode have been churning their own unique brand of black metal since 2011. The Metal Archives currently lists their genre as “Black/Death Metal”, and while that might be true for past releases that I have yet to explore, there isn’t much death to be heard at all on their latest album, Uncrossing the Keys. If anything, this fourth full length sees the band unleashing a blackened twist on traditional metal with a gothic atmosphere and thrashy outbursts, similar to the recent outings of Tribulation and Nite.
This becomes apparent from the opening bleakness of “Two Crossed Keys”. Indeed, this is a blackened rager, full of punishing riffs and infernal pomp, but with very little semblance to the Norwegian sound that’s served as a template for the genre for far too long. “Under Lanternlight” and “Saturn Shadow” double down on the aforementioned gothic nature of this album, especially within the guitar riffs, while doom-infused dirges like “Transmutation” and “Prisoner of the Moon” channel the early ’90s mysticism of acts like Samael and Rotting Christ at their most fresh-faced and musically adventurous.
Equally as thrilling is the album’s back half, which speaks volumes for a black metal release in this day and age. Usually, I’ll be charmed by the first few tracks, only to surmise by track 5 or 6, “Alright, I know what this band’s about.” Nope, not Wode! “Fiery End” enchants with its blackened goth metal sorcery, while “Lash of the Tyrant” showcases the band’s knack for lengthy, ambitious compositions. Perhaps I hear some of the blackened death the Archives was talking about on here? The closing “Dashed on the Rocks” toes the line between esoteric moodiness and bone-snapping ferocity, melding the two contrasting emotions with serious class.
If the last three Wode albums prior to Uncrossing the Keys are equally as unpredictable and unrelenting, then I’ve found a new back catalog to explore. Maybe it’s because it’s now October, and the sun outside my window is turning a shade of gray (rain is in the forecast), but perhaps trve English black metal is what it’s all about. At least Wode is having a hard time convincing me otherwise. Uncrossing the Keys has most certainly uncrossed the keys and unlocked my black metal heart!
7 out of 10
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Genre: Black Metal
For fans of: Tribulation, Rotting Christ, Samael