I can now successfully scratch “listen to black metal from South Africa” off of my bucket list. Big thanks to Antithetic Records for providing me with this delectable preview copy. Now before the comment box floods with all the bands from South Africa I haven’t heard let me take some time to point out just how Wildernessking‘s debut stands out from their other hypothetical African black metal competition. Before I delve into my review, I have to ask this necessary rhetorical: What the fuck is going on in this album cover? I do see the conspicuous horse head erupting from whatever this clusterfuck of smoke, foliage, and flying magical owl blood but I’m not sure what to make of this. Maybe this is the final product when gods write in sand?

These dudes don’t waste any time hurling you straight into their tremolo fueled fervor. Following a lengthy tortured wail from bassist/vocalist Keenan Nathan Oakes the gate unto madness flings wide open. The first track, titled “Rubicon” distinguishes exactly why Wildernessking doesn’t bother to uncompound their name: they’re way too focused on practicing to pay mind to grammatical nuances. I found myself immediately buffeted by spiteful rhetorical wails, devastating blasts and metallic 6/8 time variations less than two minutes in. This record definitely saturates the listener’s comfort zone with blackened force feeding before they’re generous enough to let one seek solace in slower segues. As the pace slowed down, I didn’t feel anticipation from any kind of foreshadowing but rather that I heard a changes that immediately reminded me of Drudkh. The song then turned took a turn for the atmospheric by temporarily spacing out riding a delay soaked lick into that familiar Alcest style riffing. This device is consistent throughout the record, but it’s everything but a shallow tribute.

Scattered piano samples are compiled toward climactic points which makes each following conclusion and/or deconstruction into the wavering verbed out staccatos that introduce the next leg of the journey. This record could take me weeks to digest and evaluate entirely so I won’t waste anyone’s valuable listening time with a tempting tangent. I will say that Wildernessking harnesses the ethereal tones of a blackened record that still possesses enough conscious direction to embrace subtlety and unbridled loathing within the same track. I cannot shake how much Keenan almost sounds like Hunter from Liturgy, but I feel like he surpasses him when in conjunction with a more elaborate example of variety in song writing. These songs are not driven by blasts non-stop, the staggering moments away from the incomprehensible bludgeoning are the most ear catching. Some portions even feel like they’d fit right alongside a Black Breath riff.

This record holds you beneath the water, sharing no regard for tolerance thresholds, and any beginner to black metal would probably discover difficulty digesting this one. This record won’t change your life (what debut releases do?), but if you prefer your metal of a more blackened and sparingly “posty” persuasion this quartet outdistances cheap imitators. I’m very excited for future releases, and I’d be pleasantly surprised should a US/European tour formulate at some point. This LP is due out this month without a definite release date, keep them on your Facebook feed for updates!

Way to rep South Africa dudes. \m/ \m/

Click here for a preview of The Writing of Gods in the Sand on Wildernessking’s Bandcamp page.

Click here to check out Wildernessking on Facebook.

- Jared Oates Haggard