Rockfreaks.net

Rwake

Voices Of Omens

Written by: PP on 13/03/2007 17:24:13

Through the roars of vocalist C.T. and the doomy and hideous soundscapes created by slow chrod progressions and furious mind-deteriorating delivery, it soon becomes clear that the Arkansas fivesome Rwake are pissed off about something, with extra emphasis on pissed off. The guitars are heavily distorted and use large amounts of feedback to create a dirty atmosphere, perhaps trying to depict impurity, as many tracks like "The Finality" and "Fire And Light" discuss religion in a strictly demoting tone. The bunch are based in the middle of back-America's bible-belt area, and this frustration shows through the sludgy and somewhat violent instrumental delivery.

Through tracks like "Crooked Rivers" and "Leviticus", the band pays its dues to Eyehategod, the grandfathers of this genre. Much ambience is present across the album, and the deeply roared, partly growled vocals are not used excessively to create an illusion of mystique and fear of the unknown, achieved through indeciphrable lyrics. Bands like Unearthly Trance have mastered this, though hardly with as much explicit melody as Rwake has in especially "Crooked Rivers". The song is ugly - some might even contend to calling it disgustingly ugly in sound - but yet in occasional passages the guitar melody faintly breaks through the deep distortions, thus adding the much needed ability to distinguish the song apart from one another.

Think Eyehategod, think Crowbar and think Unearthly Trance, maybe even Mike Patton at his more obscure side-projects. It's difficult to imagine a proper fan base for a band like Rwake, but I guess a sludge metal/sludgecore band isn't really interested in that anyway. Synonym for 'a desperate outcry of hate'? "Voices Of Omens".

Download: Crooked Rivers
For the fans of: Eyehategod, Crowbar, Acid Bath, Soilent Green
Listen: Myspace

Release date 26.02.2007
Relapse
Provided by Target ApS