Wayfarer

Vital Spirit – Still As the Night, Cold As the Wind Review

By Cherd on May 11, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, 79 comments

“Back in 2020, around the time Wayfarer were turning heads with their black metal of the Old West on A Romance With Violence, I discovered an EP seemingly out of nowhere by a Canadian two piece who, in my humble opinion, one-upped that admittedly good album. From the Navajo sand painting cover art to the Ennio Morricone spaghetti western passages to the lyrical focus on pre-colonial Americas, Vital Spirit threw their hat into that incredibly small ring with their Coloradan brethren with In The Faith That Looks Through Death. Consisting of Kyle Tavares and Israel Langlais, both of crusty meloblack band and AMG darlings Wormwitch, Vital Spirit continue their self described “saccharine black metal of the West” on their debut full-length Still as the Night, Cold as the Wind.” Black is the new spaghetti.

Stormkeep – Tales of Othertime Review

By Eldritch Elitist on November 20, 2021 in Reviews, Melodic Black Metal, 70 comments

“Tales of Othertime is an entirely different beast. Its pre-baked hype squad will undoubtedly boost its popularity, but its status as one of the most fun and listenable black metal records of the year will propel it there regardless.” Stromhype.

Conquerors – Stormbringer Review

By Felagund on May 21, 2021 in Reviews, Black Metal, 22 comments

“During my latest sojourn through the tepid waters we writers wade through to scoop up our latest promo, I encountered Stormbringer, the latest from French black metal outfit Conquerors. Confronted with Witch King-esque cover art, a Slayer-inspired logo and the knowledge that this was the band’s third full-length album, I was more than willing to give these Fenriz lookalikes a chance. Curse you, expectations.” No storm, no conquest.

Doom_et_Al’s and Dear Hollow’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020

By Doom_et_Al on December 27, 2020 in 2020, Blog Posts, Lists, 114 comments

Doom_et_Al and Dear Hollow have their big boy lists. Did they use that great power responsibly?

Tombs – Under Sullen Skies Review

By Doom_et_Al on November 18, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Hardcore, Sludge, 66 comments

“In the early 2010s, powered by bands such as Deafheaven and Liturgy, “hipster metal” became the favorite pejorative for acts that thumbed traditional metal conventions. Embraced by the mainstream, many of these groups, unfortunately, just weren’t very good, which led to metal purists rejecting them. This resulted in said mainstream accusing said purists of being snobby gatekeepers. Cue lots of sulking, posturing and finger wagging. In among the noise, however, were some real gems that were unfairly tainted by the “hipster metal” label. Although less overtly “subversive” (read: “pretentious”) than their Brooklyn counterparts, Liturgy, Tombs weirdly found themselves in this boat with their excellent debut, 2011’s Paths of Totality.” Trend Tombs.

Wayfarer – A Romance with Violence Review

By Doom_et_Al on October 14, 2020 in Reviews, 67 comments

“Violence is as American as cherry pie, or so the great MLK Jr. once said. The genesis of this hunger for bloodshed has many roots, but an obvious one is the Wild West. A perfect storm of technological force, an insatiable desire for expansion, a fondness for guns, and laws that were… flexible. It was a violent time, and black metal is violent music, so it seems curious that these have never really been combined before.” of gunsmoke and corpsepaint.

Wayfarer – World’s Blood Review

By El Cuervo on June 6, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Folk Metal, Profound Lore Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Folk Metal, Progressive Metal, 38 comments

“World’s Blood operates at a similar intersection of folk, atmospheric black metal, and progressive tendencies as Agalloch. I would make some terrible puns about if it can take up that mantle or if it would merely be a pale imitation of those folkloric influences but I won’t do so as a man of class.” Class is cancelled.

Wayfarer – Old Souls Review

By El Cuervo on June 18, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Black Metal, Post-metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 29 comments

“I was impressed by Colorado’s Wayfarer on their debut. Their post-black metal was nuanced, densely textured and showed great maturity for a young band. I was eager to overlook the flaws since their base was sound, with such touchstones as Winterfylleth or Wildernessking. A year and a half later, Old Souls succeeds Children of the Iron Age in Wayfarer‘s discography….” And a much more jaded and cynical El Cuervo awaits.

Wayfarer – Children Of The Iron Age Review

By El Cuervo on November 21, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Black Metal, Post-Rock, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 7 comments

“As the season to be jolly fast approaches, Colorado’s Wayfarer is here to bequeath unto us morose darkness-dwellers a jovial record of festive classics… or so you may think from the Christmas wreath on the album artwork. To the dismay of my planned seasonal merriment, what I actually found is a stellar record of post-black metal with deathy undertones – think Agalloch but with Primordial added for the extremity. Wayfarer is a young group with big plans, and Children Of The Iron Age is their first full-length foray into the sphere-obsessed world of extreme metal.” I think our obsession with spheres on metal albums has finally come to a middle.