Watain
Lawless Darkness
Season of Mist
Swedish black metal juggernaut (for there is really no more apt word for them) Watain burst out of the black metal underground in 2000, a blur of spikes, blood, and corpse paint, almost contemptuously tossing out their masterful debut Rabid Death’s Curse, then hit the road, and kept on hitting the fucking road (a thing many black metal bands, like rap acts, have trouble with). Now it’s time for album number four and if you even think the words “quality,” “control,” and “issue” in any sort of proximity to one another, buddy yer just not listening. Make no mistakes, Watain don’t reinvent the wheel or innovate particularly in their take on black metal. Where they succeed is by dint of their sheer conviction and sonic power. At best, they combine the antisocial brio of BM garage sickos like Armagedda (who took cues from early Bathory and Hellhammer) with the confidence and powerhouse momentum of a Slayer. In my eyes, they’re one of the few who combine ease and confidence within every note of their instrumental attack without sounding at all polished or watered down. Even more so than Gorgoroth (a band I’m reminded of when grooving to Watain Cerberus-like attack), Watain are simply imperial.
Season of Mist: http://www.season-of-mist.com
