WITHERSCAPE
“THE NORTHERN SANCTUARY”
Album Review By Chris Palmer
9/10
Witherscape is a two-piece band which hails from Sweden. Formed in 2013, the duo consisting of Dan Swanö [Vocals/Drums/Keyboards] and Ragnar Widerberg [Guitars/Bass], released their debut album, “The Inheritance”, immediately. The following year saw the release of an EP, “The New Tomorrow”.
With both releases receiving high critical acclaim, Witherscape started working on the follow-up. The result is the mesmerizingly dense conceptual album, “The Northern Sanctuary”, the theme of which picks up where “The New Tomorrow” EP left off … Dan explains: “There is a 50-year jump in the timeline from the first album and the main character. Mannen I Vitt [The Man In White] has purchased the house where all the horror initially happened. He’s restored it and rents out rooms to people from the big cities, who are aiming for some peaceful northern Swedish silence. But the entity still haunts the house and Mannen I Vitt is possessed by it, so consequently he/it does terrible things to the “patients”. Since the house is built on one of the gates of hell, there’s a ritual taking place, opening the hellish dimension from where the evil entity once came, so it can go back there ….”
Paul Kuhr [Novembers Doom] contributes lyrically to “The Northern Sanctuary”, with the music blending elements of 70’s and 80’s Prog/Hard Rock with Atmospheric Extreme Metal.
“The Northern Sanctuary” was released in July 2016 via Century Media. The album consists of nine tracks and runs for almost 47 minutes. The pleasant sound of the keyboards greet you upon pressing play, before an onslaught of heavy riffs hit you, sparking the album into gear as “Wake Of Infinity” begins in impressive style. The band have your attention immediately and the heavy riffs will have you headbanging proudly in no time – a feat which continues with the excellent “In The Eyes Of Idols”, which literally blasts past you with its contagious, pounding rhythm. Neat guitar-play bounces from the headphones in excellent style before Witherscape settle into another heavy rhythm as “Rapture Ballet” is upon you. The rhythm of this number is outstanding and the chorus sections contain good melody and are as catchy as hell.
“The Examiner” swiftly follows with a combination of keyboards, neat guitar-play, and a strong vocal display. This number has a ballad-type feel to it, yet has a heavy edge and is a welcome addition to the album. A heavy ballad is then followed by the crawling, mellow “Marionette”, which also contains a great combination of clear and guttural/roaring vocal styles together with heavy moments. The tempo increases dramatically with heavy, fast-paced riffs as the band launch into “Divinity”, thus sparking an obligatory headbanging session! At 3:02 in length, “Divinity” is the shortest track on the album and it certainly feels like it as it blasts past you, leaving you breathless with some superb guitar-play throughout.
Such good guitar-play continues into “God Of Ruin”, which rolls through its length together with an equally impressive vocal display and heavy rhythm section of bass and drums. The track literally pounds through the headphones before coming to an end abruptly, leaving you with the sounds of the intro to the title track, “The Northern Sanctuary”, as it starts slowly. At almost 14 minutes in length, it’s the longest on the album by far and has an atmospheric feel to it in places as it progresses. It’s heavy moments are HEAVY and contain riffs that literally shake the foundations as well as some excellent guitar-play and solos. Containing another first-class vocal display, heavy guitars, bass lines, and drumming, as well as neat sounding keyboards, this track is an epic number in every sense of the word. Finishing with a flurry of shredding guitars, you’re then led into the very short, closing number, “Vila I Frid” and its beautiful keyboards.
From start to finish, “The Northern Sanctuary” is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The quality of the music contained within leaves you wondering how a two-piece could manage such a feat. Witherscape manage to blend elements of 70’s and 80’s Prog/Hard Rock with Atmospheric Extreme Metal to perfection. This is an album that is an essential addition to your music collection and one that you’ll return to numerous times.
TRACKLIST
Wake Of Infinity
In The Eyes Of Idols
Rapture Ballet
The Examiner
Marionette
Divinity
God Of Ruin
The Northern Sanctuary
Vila I Frid
http://www.witherscape.com/
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