Way To End
Various Shades Of Black ()
Wydane przez Les Acteurs de l’Ombre ProductionsRok wydania Kraj FranceNapisał Wouter8
French black metal combo Way To End probably delivered the most poignant and interesting record in 2009 with their debut "Desecrated Internal Journey". Now four years later the follow-up "Various Shades Of Black" has finally arrived. What drew me into their debut initially was the lack of blasting speed, the odd rhythms, dissonant riffing, the prominent bass guitar and tortured vocal cadences. All of this remains on "Various Shades Of Black" and it seems Way To End has just further perfected its craft. In a lot of ways the riff set is reminiscent of math – and technical metal, while the steady midpace gives it an aura of ‘90s death/doom with acoustics downplaying the heaviness. It’s a nice change of pace, as most bands tend to overdo themselves in proving how heavy they can be. Not so with Way To End, who go out of their way to show how unconventional they are willing to be by prominently featuring those acoustics and fully integrating them into their songwriting. There’s also the use of the theremin (an instrument used primarily in ‘50s science-fiction movies), which adds a unique alien and otherworldly flavor. Another worthwhile trait is Way To End’s choice of vocals. There’s no shrieks or demonic rasps to be found here. No, instead the vocals are more mid-register utterings and wails. It is truly very demented and ritualistic sounding at times. The record is almost sung entirely in French, which was probably for the best as this is their first language. In a lot of ways "Various Shades Of Black" isn’t a progression (or regression, for that matter) from their debut of four years ago. It is more of a side-step. "Various Shades Of Black" does more of the same, but does it better and more convincing. Way To End’s third album will be their definitive statement. I pray that they’ll go even deeper into the direction of this record and the one that preceded it. Greatness looms, my friends.
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