Ered Wethrin - Tides Of War (2014) [Gorgatz]

Ered Wethrin - Tides Of War (2014) [Gorgatz]



- I N F O -

Ered Wethrin’s Tides of War is another great release for Northern Silence Productions, the German label that keeps on giving. (Check the new Woods of Desolation song we streamed a few days ago if you haven’t yet, and keep an eye out for the forthcoming Nasheim album and others due on February 14 of next year.) Ered Wethrin’s a new one-man band, Tides of War is their first release, and the band hails (the only verb of origin appropriate here) from Salt Lake City, now the unlikely home to three of Northern Silence’s best acts, the other two being the folk black metal virtuoso Gallowbraid and the epic black metal (two man) horde Caladan Brood.

Ered Wethrin plays epic black metal, too, and I can’t be the only one a bit curious about three excellent, somewhat stylistically similar black metal bands on the same label hailing from Salt Lake City. In some ways, Ered Wethren brings to mind a more organic-sounding Caladan Brood. There’s this, too: Ered Wethrin is named for a mountain range in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Caladan Brood is named for a warlord in Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen novels, and Gallowbraid shares a name with a Magic: The Gathering character. Ered Wethrin’s album is named Tides of War, while Caladan Brood’s album is named Echoes of Battle. Anyway, just saying.

“Into the Stars” is the first track available from Tides of War, and it does a good job of showing off Ered Wethrin’s knack for crafting huge and epic symphonic black metal. As one IO colleague put it, listening to “Into the Stars” “made me feel like I just beat a video game.” The tapped intro sure does feel like leveling-up, and the rest of the nearly 12-minute song is as triumphant as can be, a post-battle celebratory ride on a winged animal to Riff Mountain. “Into the Stars” is catchy as hell, too, very hummable; its recurring group chorus bit swells more than sings, a heave-ho destined for victory.

"Ered Wethrin joins the roster of amazingly well written epic atmospheric black metal from the city of Salt Lake in Utah. If you’ve heard of Gallowbraid and Caladan Brood, you’re most likely going to be fawning over this project as well. Tides of War marks as this one man band’s debut album and starts off the year in an explosive fashion with raw vocals accentuating over beautifully carved synths and desolate yet melodic guitar riffs. Ered Wethrin isn’t doing anything revolutionary in this style, but the presentation and energy is undoubtedly top notch."

"Ered Withrin bring us epic, melodic black metal in the vein of Summoning, complete with drum computer and synths. The inspiration for this solo project is drawn from fantasy books and movies. Music wise, Sven Smith creates landscapes we know from Lord Of The Rings and other tales of Hyperboric fantasy. It would be easy to write of Ered Wethrin as a Summoning clone, yet there is more to the music on Tides Of War. One can detect a certain influence from the eastern European black metal. There are hints of Drudkh and Nokturnal Mortum to be found. Sound wise this is quite good, considering the fact that it is all recorded and mixed by Sven himself.

No murky bedroom antics, but a clear and spacious sound. The level of playing is also good and the vocals are pleasant. All in all an enjoyable mix of atmosphere and dreamy melodies. A good piece of nostalgia. There also lies the weakness of this album. It lacks a face and sound truly its own. But I have high hopes for the future."

- T R A C K L I S T -

01. Frozen Rivers
02. Frigid Tides
03. Bloody Annals And Brooding Skies
04. Into The Stars
05. Realm Of The Tyrant
06. Requiem For The Fallen
07. Stellar Graveyard

Format: 128 mp3
Genrre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Sub Genre: Epic Metal
Size: 62.28 MB