Windfaerer: Tenebrosum

Windfaerer's debut EP excited many listeners. Here, they thought, is an American black metal band that may stir the soul as well as the body. I was certainly intrigued to hear the band's full-length debut; I was also interested in the way the band draws on folk elements, highlighted most often by the presence of a very impressive violin. There's plenty of promise here, but as I listened to this album I found that things mostly just dragged on too much. None of the songs are 10 minutes long, but several of them get close. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but too often things feel like extended opportunities to listen to the violin do its thing (all the while backed up by all the muster of the rest of the band). It wouldn't be fair to call the album boring, but it does often come off as being somewhat trapped by a single idea. I noticed that there are several very positive reviews of this album online and I agree that this band is very talented and that they are showing signs of doing interesting things both with folk music and with black metal. I like that kind of stuff, but I found that the album as a whole never quite put the pieces together sufficiently. I enjoyed the track "The Outer Darkness," but even still there was nothing that really set the song apart from all the others. I also wonder if the production made too much of the violin and not enough of the rest of the band. For the most part, the violin sounds strong and clear but the rest of the music sometimes sounds like it clumps everything else together too much. The vocals sounded especially grainy, especially when contrasted with the always-clear violin. I'd recommend dipping into this album—maybe you will be one of those who are gaga for it. As for me, I'm going to hold out a bit longer and see where this band takes things in the future.

Track Listing:
1. Celestial Supremacy
2. Finisterra
3. Tales Told in Oblivion
4. Santería
5. The Everlasting
6. Morir en el Olvido
7. The Outer Darkness

Added: November 5th 2015
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1824
Language: english

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