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.
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

Unearthly Litanies of Despair Death Metal
ENGULFED
Buy this album from MMA partners
It Beckons Us All....... Black Metal
DARKTHRONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Death Is Not The End Doom Metal
GLOSSA
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Way Forward Sludge Metal
BLACK TUSK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Till Aska Atmospheric Sludge Metal
WALK THROUGH FIRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 2 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 3 days 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