There are enough bad things that happen in life that can cut us off from feeling any sense of positivity. Pain and disillusionment are everywhere, and there have been stretches the past few years that have made the seemingly simple act of just surviving seem like an insurmountable task. Surviving is the key, but getting there can be torturous.
“Celestial Shine” is the first record from Waidelotte, a band combining members of other notable beasts including White Ward, Soen, and Naoni Orchestra. This nine-track record is a conceptual piece of sorts about a central character that suffers from a disheartening life journey that has brought chaos and pain. This journey hurtles through despair, death, and rebirth, navigating through darkness that can scar one’s psyche. The band’s core—vocalist Andrii Pechatkin, guitarist Mykhailo Bogaichuk, bassist Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel—plies progressive black metal with Ukrainian folk music, and they are joined by a slew of pivotal guests including Cody Lee Ford (guitars), Nata Hrytsenko (ethnic vocals), Sofiya Ruban (ethnic vocals), Olena Pavlovska (ethnic vocals), Igor Roshenets (vocals), Anna Buziian (vocals), Serhiy Vasyliuk (spoken word), Gordiy Starukh (hurdy-gurdy), Vlad Vakolyuk (bandura), Ivan Hnativ (tsymbaly), and composer Solar Kollapse.
“Descending” opens with sorrowful acoustics and birds chirping, an intro cut that spills into “The Era of Stagnant Gods” that explodes open with wild prog fuel. Shrieks rampage as the playing punishes, ethnic folk instrumentation setting in another layer. The hammering intensity returns as the power rains down, clean calls swirl, and cosmos swallows everything. “Todestrieb” is chunky and heavy, shrieks menacing as thrashy madness sinks in its teeth. The playing fades into rustic strings, setting a brief sense of calm before the shrieks mar anew, and the thorns dig into flesh, ending in numbing majesty. “Opulent Mirage” unloads and stirs, the shrieks ripping as the singing swells, filling your chest. The playing easily fills the senses, and then acoustics rise, layering over speaking and dreamy enchantment before the chaos jars, scorching amid choral calls that ice bones.
“The Mortality Archway” delivers great riffs, blistering growls that retch, and an intensity that spikes and then pulls back suddenly. Strings echo and intensify, shrieks return and dizzy, and the chugging thickens, barreling its way into “Ascending” a brief instrumental with acoustics, native instruments, and synth beams that cool. “Lightkeeper” brings jabbing riffs and rubbery bass, the shrieks and howls tearing at flesh and making the ground buckle. Calm washes over as choral voices mix into the fray, adding a sense of beauty and delicacy before everything ramps up all over again, shrieks contributing bruising and slashing might. “Celestial Shrine” enters amid echoed strings, and then sinister riffs dig in, progressive-minded leads taking the reins. The storming pace is compelling, moodiness thickens, and the playing finally tapers off into mist. Closer “Dissolving” is ominous, sounds hovering, a chilling ambiance sinking into bloodstreams created by Sound Kollapse. Chimes reverberate as static builds, a synth haze moving overhead, the dream slowly fading away.
“Celestial Shrine” recounts a very relatable, human experience, one that eventually finds us all at some point in our lives. The music Waidelotte commit to this record brims with chaos but also with boisterous spirit, one that revels in the theme of rebirth. This is an exciting, riveting adventure that grows more revealing with each experience.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/waidelottemusic
To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://debemurmorti.aisamerch.com/
Or here (Europe): https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop
For more on the label, go here: https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/
Meat Mead Metal 