Griefbringer – The Horrible Wilting
Release Date: 18th November 2021
Label: Church of Crow Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Sludge.
FFO: Funeral, Consecration.
Review By: Hillary Wisniewski
Italian doom crew Griefbringer brings forth their debut album The Horrible Wilting. Although it is their first go round, these dudes are not strangers to the metal scene. Members of Monumentu, Haunted, Schizo, and Hell Obelisco gathered together and decided to combine their talents in order to “…explore the depth of the soul in this new creature. Darkness and godliness of places and images are our most important source of inspiration.” Exploring the depth of the soul is not an easy feat, but if any medium truly allows for one to go on this endeavor it is music.
The Horrible Wilting boasts some of the best qualities of doom metal. At times the sound of this album is so thick it is like you are being swallowed up in grimy, nasty quicksand. We have some of the usual suspects for doom metal: drawn out, slow, deliberate, and ominous riffs with plenty of hammer on pull off action. The low end keeps things rumbling along throughout. Some tracks struck a chord with me more than others. On A Warlock there is a build up to a nice shift in the song and the overall structure keeps things interesting. Grimace of Madness is like a sledgehammer to the face right from the outset, and it continues to pummel you throughout. Obeying the Owl is somber and heavy; it is like a funeral put to music. The last track, The Creeper, is the most oppressive of the lot and an excellent choice to end the album. Vocals range from sounding like Alice In Chains to the low, guttural growls one would expect on a death metal album.
I had high hopes based on what the band were setting out to do with this work, but I am disappointed to say that this album wasn’t for me. There were moments that were incredibly drawn out, and it became a bit of a tedious listen. I thought the clean vocals sounded great, but they just didn’t fit the overall sound as a whole. There were some moments I appreciated and some decent tracks, though, and I wouldn’t write Griefbringer off in the future. I think it is best to be flexible in terms of a band’s first work because a lot is getting sussed out in the process. I am sure there will be some of my doom/sludge lovin’ comrades who will eat this album up. Give it a whirl and judge for yourself!
(3 / 5)
