Heresiarch - Wælwulf

HERESIARCH - Wælwulf (IRON BONEHEAD - 7"EP 2015)

Damn, this is a great release! And it comes from a band, which I did not know much about, although I was familiar with their name and whereabouts. I have seen their “Hammer of Intransigence” EP many times in the distros, but never bothered to check it out or buy. Hmmm, something I need to change soon, as here’s Heresiarch’s recent recording, a 7” vinyl titled “Wælwulf” and I feel truly blown away by this music! Oh yeah, those New Zealand dudes know how to crush the bones and torment and the music they prepared for “Wælwulf” is among the best stuff I have heard recently. There are three truly devastating tracks of severe, harsh death / black metal played in the most obscure and gloomy ways, with killer morbid atmosphere and very impressive, MASSIVE aura.

I suppose that there are quite few similar bands around these days, which take the influence from the old cults such as Incantation and Blasphemy, but use them to create even more heavy and vicious music. Heresiarch in my opinion stands aside to such acts as Paroxsihzem, Father Befouled, Embrace of Thorns, Ignivomous, Cthonic Aura, Grave Miasma, Bestial Raids or Abyssal. Heresiarch definitely created similar kind of obscure, sepulchral atmosphere and vibe in their music, mainly based upon totally slow, fuckin heavy and crushing doomy riffs. This slow pace dominates here, basically each song is concentrating on it, especially “Abrecan”, which is so damn impressive track… but my favourite is “Endeþrǽst” as it has not only those utter slow, gigantic, immense bits, but the beginning is a furious, fast onslaught of darkness and malevolence, no less heavy than the doomy parts. Damn, what a good stuff. I just love these barbaric riffs, the fact that they are so heavy, aggressive, but also kind of mesmerizing with almost hypnotizing influence on the listener. More so, I can sense some discrete harmonic guitar parts here and there, what only makes these songs more valuable and great to listen to. The production is also fantastic, the vocals are as they should be, so I am fully impressed.

Summing it all up, I can admit that I did underestimate Heresiarch and did not expect to hear such a killer piece of blackened death / doom. But now I am possessed. I think this band came up with excellent effort, which in my opinion place them among the best bands of this style immediately. Hmm, but maybe “Hammer of Intransigence” already did that before, I don’t know, but surely will find out once I get the previous EP also. Now I can only recommend “Wælwulf”, as one of the best 7”EPs of the recent years. Fuckin delicious!

Standout track: “Endeþrǽst”

Final rate: 85/100