OneMetal.com music REVIEW:
Withershin – The Hungering Void

Swedish black metal quartet Withershin were formed in 2006, releasing their first demo Chaos Discipline that same year. 2008 saw the release of their debut full-length album, Ashen Banners – an album which gained the band a fairly warm critical response and comparisons to the likes of Dissection, Watain and Marduk – pretty illustrious company indeed, and indicative of the band’s chilly, savage yet melodic take on black metal. Two years on, Withershin have released a three-track EP. Clocking in at just over fifteen minutes, The Hungering Void is a chance to check in and see what Withershin circa 2010 are all about. Given the short, three-track nature of this release, I think I’ll take a song-by-song approach on this one.

So, we kick off proceedings with ‘Wherein I Exalt’, which begins with a gentle sounding, clean-guitar rhythm guitar backdrop and a langourous lead melody, before the track erupts into driving double bass drumming, both guitar riffs played now with frantic tremolo-picking and searing, high-gain distorted tones. This introductory salvo is quickly followed by a barrage of blastbeats pushing the intensity of the track even higher, priming the listener for a Dark Funeral/Marduk-esque frenzied black metal assault – however, a more down-tempo, doom-laden mid-section shows that Withershin are more than capable of including some variation and dynamics within their compositions. The near-two minute outro consisting of a near-subliminal rumbling drone, illegible, echoed whispers and the sounds of knives being sharpened adds a nice touch of sinister atmosphere, yet comes perilously close to outstaying its welcome and derailing the tempo of the EP.

This is followed by ‘The Hungering Void’, which begins with a battery of rapid-fire drumming, rhythm guitars supplying a flesh-stripping power chord progression and a surprisingly melodic and technical introductory solo before vocalist Nine’s strangled, croaking vocals come in. As the shortest track on the EP, this one is a relentlessly up-tempo beast, with an unceasing bombardment of machine-gun double kick drumming and charging, tremolo-picked upper-register riffage, the track ending almost as abruptly as it begins. This one’s probably my favourite on the EP – it kind of reminds me of early Anaal Nathrakh in its unrepentant savagery, only with less industrial clinicism and more melody.

Finally, we come to ‘Crossing The Void’. The most mid-tempo track on the EP, this one begins with arpeggiated acoustic guitars under spare, crackling chugs and slashes from the lead guitar underpinning whispered vocals, before a series of Burzum-esque, mantra-like rhythm riffs take centre stage, alternating with piercing tremolo-picked riffage and sudden, reverie-breaking bursts of tom-centric fills from drummer Zek. This is perhaps the most pleasingly-arranged track of the three, with riffs staying the same while the drummer changes beat or the vocalist takes a different tack to keep the song moving forwards, rather than languishing in hypnotic monotony.

The production of the EP is pretty much beyond reproach – the guitars roar and seethe with icy spite, while the drums balance clarity and weight with equal aplomb, allowing the material to retain a suitably satisfying level of heaviness without becoming muddy and indistinct. Even bassist Hex is well-served with a bass tone that has a certain gravelly twanginess that allows his contributions to be keenly felt – a rarity in a lot of black metal. Nine’s vocals could possibly do with being more up-front in the mix, however, as they sometimes find themselves overpowered by the the guitars and drums when the compositions are in full-on hell-for-leather mode.

Overall, then, this is a highly satisfying offering of savage, yet subtly melodic black metal, showing that Withershin are equally as capable of retaining the listener’s interest while maintaining a more measured, mid-tempo groove as they are when deploying lightspeed blastbeats and blistering riffage. There are no pretentions to artistry or progression here – no pastoral, folk-influenced moments or nods to shoegazing, depressive black metal – just well-written, well-delivered black metal. Definitely worth a listen for fans of the likes of Dissection and Marduk.

Withershin’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/withershin
Canonical Hours’ Website: http://www.canonicalhours.com

Bottom Line

A fine fifteen minutes of icy, savage black metal, and a great release to whet the appetite for Withershin's next full-length release.