Some musicians pour all their energies into one project, shaping and molding until they’ve chiseled their own David out of sonic marble. Others, like the members of Melbourne’s Black Lava, mix aural color across different mediums, leaving different permutations of themselves in the wake. Consisting of members of Vipassi, Ne Obliviscaris, and Metalstorm, these Aussies emerged from the wilderness two years ago with Soul Furnace, a sludgy platter of death metal completely different from its associated acts. Not content to rest on their laurels, the trio has churned out their sophomore album, The Savage Winds of Wisdom, two years later. The band aims to expand their horizons on this LP, incorporating elements of tech-death and black metal into their proven death-n-roll palette. As the first raindrops of “Colour of Death” begin to fall, whether or not Black Lava can concoct a new amalgamation remains to be seen.
It’s telling that Black Lava’s members come from disparate side projects because the musical DNA of the band’s sound is hard to pin down. There are HM-2 Swedeath moments throughout, and the highly varied drumming style reminds me of fellow countrymen Werewolves, but the band seem to keep their influences close to the chest. What we can discern is the differences between this and the previous album. TSWoW hits harder and meaner than Soul Furnace and has largely left the sludge and punk influences behind (excepting opener “Colour of Death”). There’s a real sense of cinematic horror here, with Rob Watkins employing a cavernous, narrative vocal style not unlike The Vision Bleak (“Dark Legacy,” “Unsheathing Nightmares”). There are meaty riffs to be found here and there (the openings of “Wrapped in Filth” and Ironclad Sarcophagus”) but guitarist Ben Boyle feels slightly underused, acting in a supporting, atmospheric role to the chameleon-like performance of drummer Dan Presland. Black Lava is a group of accomplished professionals, but a well-rounded album must be greater than the sum of its parts.
The Savage Winds To Wisdom by BLACK LAVA
The tracks in TSWoW can be split into two, broad categories; those that play it safe, and those that push the edges of the band’s creativity. Unsurprisingly, the songs with more trimmed runtimes belong to the former category. The band toys around with signature unison rhythms designed to worm into the listener’s brain (“Dark Legacy,” “Wrapped in Filth”) amid flashes of death-n-roll (“Ironclad Sarcophagus”) and atmospheric synths (“Pagan Dust”) to augment the death metal base. I highlight the opening salvo, comprised of the first three tracks, as unusually tepid when compared to the music to come. Everything in this category is well executed from a musical standpoint, but the constant mid-paced tempo and drum-forward, mostly guitar solo-less construction feels weaker amongst the other, more adventurous tracks.
Starting somewhere in mid-album track “Unsheathing Nightmares” Black Lava settle in and let their imagination fly. The focus on a narrative storyline involving witches and swords(?) Injects much needed thrash energy and kicks the album into a higher gear. Subsequent riffs feel stronger, locking into place (“Summoning Shadows”). Presland finds new ways to use the drum kit (“Sanguis Lupus”) and those previously mentioned synths in “Pagan Dust” are a breath of fresh air that need more time in the sun. But the band save their real ambition for the eponymous closer, which contains some of the most unexpected, intriguing death metal I’ve heard this year. The first half of the track features the band as Frankenstein, with hyperactive drums clashing against chunky chords and ghostly arpeggiations in a way that shouldn’t work, but alchemically, it does.1 Ne Obliviscaris’ Benjamin Baret really gets his teeth into a guest solo spot on the song’s outro, but it’s marred by a coda that grinds on far too long. It’s a shame because the four minutes of “The Savage Winds of Wisdom” preceding that envision a fertile breeding ground for the future of Black Lava.
It’s plain that The Savage Winds of Wisdom represents a big step in the right direction for Black Lava. They’ve shed their jammier sludge beginnings for a more straightforward death template, and have begun to branch out into some less populated musical areas (“Sanguis Lupus,” “The Savage Winds of Wisdom”). Black Lava has already proven they’re a competent group of musicians; their next act involves them cementing their own personal sound and fury. I’m excited to see where they go next and recommend this record to fans of atmosphere-drenched death metal that’s not afraid to push the envelope.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024
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