Wildernessking - Mystical Future

MOBILE PREVIEW

By Justin C.


I've gotten into a somewhat unfortunate pattern lately, ending each year with some unpleasant surgical procedure. Luckily, I've also gotten hold of album promos around the same time that have provided some comfort. Last year, Lotus Thief got me through a rough patch of recovery, and this year, it was Wildernessking's turn to figuratively babysit me with their new album, Mystical Future. Stylistically, these two bands don't share a lot of sonic territory, but both have that all-important power to take you to other places.

The intricacies of how Wildernessking fits into the vague "post-black metal" category has been covered elsewhere, and our friend Andy Synn at No Clean Singing does the topic much more justice than I could. That said, I have to admit that I came to be a bit obsessed with perhaps the least black metal track on the album, "To Transcend." This would be a lovely piece of music that would probably easily translate to almost any genre, although of course there are some far-away-yet-still-harsh vocals deep in the mix, keeping things black and frosty. The delicate instrumentation puts me firmly in mind of walking down an abandoned beach in the cold off-season. And believe me, I clung to that feeling during a December bone biopsy when a doctor was literally using a hammer to chisel away a piece of my hip bone under only a local anesthetic. So somewhat unfairly, this album will always have a close tie to the feeling of someone trying to pound a railroad spike into my pelvis, but on the plus side, this wide-ranging music was an excellent refuge, and I think it will easily outlast any unsavory associations.

"To Transcend" might be more delicate than the rest of the album, but it's part and parcel with the overall feeling the band has achieved here. At times, I hear strong hints of shoegaze, particularly in "With Arms Like Wands," but it's been truly absorbed into the band's unique sound. The melodies are aching and powerful, and they often come in on waves of sound. There's still plenty of black metal to be found, of course, but the throat-burning vocals, melodic tremolos, and blasting drums, when present, all serve a very particular vision of songwriting, making detailed discussions of influence and stylistic cues beside the point. In fact, I had plans of a more detailed, perhaps even academic breakdown of the band's progression, but I ultimately abandoned that idea. The album is so expansive, and oftentimes wistful, that it seemed like a more analytic approach would be like teaching an art appreciation course focused solely on the chemical compositions of the paint used. The five tracks make up a cohesive whole, in concept and sound, and teasing it apart wouldn't do it justice. Wildernessking are pushing on the boundaries of black metal, which does the whole genre a great service, and Mystical Future is a remarkable gem to kick off 2016 with.

Wildernessking - Mystical Future

By Ulla Roschat. Disguised as the second full length atmospheric black metal album of South African four piece band Wildernessking, “Mystical Future” is in reality… a dream… a sweet dream, a sad dream, a violent and furious dream

By Ulla Roschat.


Disguised as the second full length atmospheric black metal album of South African four piece band Wildernessking, Mystical Future is in reality… a dream… a sweet dream, a sad dream, a violent and furious dream, nightmarishly scary and of poetic beauty.

With the opening song "Wild Horses" it sneaks into your sleep. Gradually, almost slowly and cautiously it expands and unfolds itself in your sleeping brain and builds, from what initially feels sort of minimalistic, into rich atmospheres and the song leaves you with a promise of melodic beauty and exciting dynamics.

Already deeply intrigued by this intro, the next song "I Will Go to Your Tomb" starts to grab and tear at your heart and soul. With enthralling furious riffs, harsh aggressive vocals and a breathtakingly propelling drumming it unleashes a whirlwind of raging moods juxtaposed to the gloomy fabric of the melodies, yet complementing them ever so wonderfully.

And as if the dream wants to avoid the risk of waking you up by its unsettling dynamics, it wants to be dreamt to its end after all, the next song "To Transcend" is a contemplative break bringing back the minimalistic feel from the beginning. But make no mistake, the song has its own kind of intensity bringing a slightly eerie ethereal atmosphere to the music, created notably by the softly echoing vocals here.

Wildernessking 2012. Photos by Luke Daniel

The following "With Arms like Wands" is all furious aggression again, and the combination of a great songwriting and the musician's ability to play off each other perfectly well creates a strong dynamic of build ups and complex sound.

The closing song "If You Leave" takes up the doomy brewing mood of the first song and female vocals are introduced here. They beautifully mingle with and complement the vicious male vocals and both lead you into the world between dream and wake.

The perfect balance of black metal violence and melancholic melodies, woven into well and tightly structured songs lets the album find its own flow into an organic cohesion that's totally spellbinding and of a deep emotional impact!

Although Wildernessking is a rather young band, they formed 2011, and their discography is still small (one debut full length album and two EPs ) “Mystical Future” sounds like the mature manifestation of a unique brand. Not only does it show an evolution in their songwriting, their sense of progressive dynamics and ridiculously beautiful and catchy melodies, not only does it show their capability to create unique and captivating atmospheres, this album seems to call out: This is Wildernessking!

Wildernessking - The Devil Within

By Andy Osborn. Wildernessking are a band I was drawn to for their geography as much as their music. Both of my parents are from South Africa, where the most of my extended family still lives. So when I first heard that a

By Andy Osborn.

Artwork by Pierre Perichaud

Wildernessking are a band I was drawn to for their geography as much as their music. Both of my parents are from South Africa, where the most of my extended family still lives. So when I first heard that a post-black metal band from the country of my roots was starting a crowdsourcing effort to put out a debut LP, I had my credit card out before even hearing a single note. Fortunately, the music would have drawn my attention no matter where the band calls home, because within seconds of the opener to The Writing of Gods in the Sand, I knew the band were doing something special. And their quick follow-up EP solidified their place as a hard working, talented band that surprises at every turn.

Now, after almost two years of silence the Cape Town quartet is back with yet another three track offering to keep us satisfied. As much as a full-length would have been appreciated, the sheer dynamism and power of The Devil Within more than make up for its length. It shows us a group that has clearly been working on all aspects of their sound as a newfound sense of maturity and self permeate every second of the eighteen minute effort.

“Luker” and “Flesh” share a similar sense of intensity and urgency, with the latter’s vicious tempo change and unrelenting percussive attack making it one of the band’s most impressive tracks to date. They also introduce you to the new production choice the band favors on the EP. By making the vocals take a slight step back, they help to put the focus more on the swirling hurricanes created by the guitars, adding a demonic yet ethereal sheen over everything. “The Devil Within” is more akin to the atmospheric fare the band has experimented with, and as a ten minute cap to the release it works wonderfully. Exploding at the halfway point before pulling hard on the reins and drawing everything to a melancholic close, it shows the young band’s deliberation and confidence with their music.

Innumerable ideas and and relentless creative energy continue to burst forth from Wildernessking. What they create is just begging to be explored further, and no doubt will as the group continue to hone their skills as an incredibly dynamic unit. We’re witnessing a unique, extreme metal band flourish in a land where few have done before, and it’s an amazing thing to behold.

The Journey of Wildernessking

By Keenan Nathan Oakes. When Max asked me to chronicle the journey from Heathens to Wildernessking and more specifically from the Mock the Heavens EP to our recent work, I was a little stumped. Nothing has really changed

By Keenan Nathan Oakes.

When Max asked me to chronicle the journey from Heathens to Wildernessking and more specifically from the Mock the Heavens EP to our recent work, I was a little stumped. Nothing has really changed since the inception of our group in 2009/2010. We’re still writing music with the purpose of pleasing ourselves and having fun, yet we’ve encountered so many great things on our path that have certainly moulded our thinking and ambitions.


Dylan [Viljoen - Guitars] and I were playing for a band (a rather ambitious, progressive metal band with big goals) in 2008-2010 that never really saw the light of day. During this time Jesse [Navarre Vos - Guitars] and I became close friends and talked about forming a black metal band as we became more interested in and slightly obsessed with the genre.

In the interim Dylan and I started Heathens as a fun project that touched on the more rock ‘n roll side of black metal, ala Darkthrone and Aura Noir, while we waited for our main band to take off. With no real goals other than to have fun and write some tunes, we put out our first EP in May of 2010. This was the first band that I was in where I was involved in the writing process, and not coming on board only for vocal and lyrical duties, and it felt and still feels pretty special. We were really happy with what we created in Heathens and that was more than enough at the time.

Jesse joined in September of 2010 as our sound started expanding, and everything came full circle. I was now in a “black metal” band with Jesse, and Dylan and I realized our goals (eventually) that we had previously set for our other band.

Artwork by Tim Leibbrandt.

Dylan wrote "‘Til the Aeons Come" in the winter of 2009. I remember staying over at his house one evening and he played me the song. I’m a sucker for pretty much anything our guitarists write, and I immediately took to the music and wrote lyrics for it when I woke up the following morning. It was a fun process and we decided to write some more songs, if only a couple of months later. We finished the 5 original tracks that make up the EP around January/February of 2010.

The other band that Dylan and I were playing in at the time actually approached Jason [Jardim - Drums] about joining, but he was committed to Infernal Sephiroth (they might've changed their name by then), a fantastic bm project that no longer exists, sadly. Knowing about Jason’s affinity for the genre, I approached him again, this time with the music we had written for the Mock the Heavens EP. I remember dropping the songs off at his place (a fairly awkward encounter) and a couple of days later Dylan and I were jamming with Jason in his basement (now lovingly referred to as The Dungeon). I distinctly remember Jason asking us what was going to happen to the project even before we started jamming, and we said that we’ll see how it goes but we would like him to be the drummer. All this before knowing whether or not there was musical chemistry.

The first jam went pretty well, and a week later we played our first gig.

Artwork by Tim Leibbrandt.

We’re always writing… It was never our intention to be super productive. We really enjoy the creative process, and I think that’s our favourite part of being in this band, making music with your best friends.

One thing that’s remained constant throughout these last few years is the need to push ourselves, try something differently, whether it’s our approach to the music or the music itself, where we’re going to record and how we’re going to do it, who we’re going to work with, and how we can control almost every aspect of our band. That’s the blessing of doing this whole D-I-Y thing.

The Reign of the Heathen was strung together fairly soon after we did the first EP. We tried some new things (having our friend Ryan come lay down vocals on the title track, having a solid blast beat section in "Forever Black", more progressive structures etc.) while paying homage to the greats by keeping to the metal clichés. I’m particularly fond of the intro that Dylan wrote ("Newborn") and we’ve spoken about doing an ambient/acoustic/soundscape Wildernessking album at some point.

We never wanted to play in the confines of genre and we love it when bands evolve/mature/change, so it wasn't so much a conscious decision as it was a natural progression to try something new for the next release.

Artwork by Tim Leibbrandt.

Dylan and I met up on the evening of 24 June 2010 at his place (aka The Shed, where most of the music for the first Wildernessking album was written). Over the course of a couple of hours in the evening and the next morning, we wrote one of our favourite songs. "Morning" is really fun to play and holds a special place in our hearts, much like "The Return" from the first EP.

The idea for a name change came in May of 2011. With the coverage and support we got from Angry Metal Guy and Lurker’s Path for the Heathens material, we decided to step things up a little, thus legitimizing our band. There is a hardcore band called Heathens and we didn’t want to share a name once we knew that we would take this project further. Another reason for the change was that the music called for it… We wanted a name that more accurately encapsulated our essence...

Artwork for the CD version by Reuben Sawyer / Rainbath Visual

Our first record feels like a best of compilation when looking back to that period in our lives. Jesse had been in the band for about a year before we started recording the album in September of 2011, but we hadn’t really found ourselves musically. We took the best songs we could write at the time (the creative process was very sporadic) and recorded them. The whole thing was tied together lyrically, yet somehow the album seems pretty cohesive on a musical level and flows well.

Artwork by Stephen Green

We had written the title track (in a similar fashion to Morning) while we were still recording The Writing of Gods in the Sand. I remember going for a walk with Dylan and Jason at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Dylan mentioned that we should turn …And the Night Swept Us Away into a little EP (initially we were going to do another single release). Even though it has only 3 tracks, we’re really proud of this EP because we feel that it touches on a few styles (styles that we’ve really elaborated on for our 2nd full-length).

The fact that our band has connected with people from all over the world is truly amazing and wonderful. We are so thankful to everyone that supports Wildernessking. It’s mind blowing and humbling to read all these incredible reviews of our music, and it has only fueled the fire.

Look out for a lot of music this year!

Thanks for reading,

-- Keenan

Wildernessking - ...And the Night Swept Us Away

Written by by Andy Osborn.

Artwork by Stephen Green

Wildernessking fit perfectly into the newest-wave of black metal; a forward-thinking, progressive amalgamation of the genre that ranges in influence from screamo to shoegaze. The Cape Town quartet surprised fans with this new three-song EP just four months after their debut full-length, and it's an intriguing departure.

Only the second track which shares the name of the EP is a 'proper' song, but it fits perfectly as a crescendo between the introspective ambiance of "Adrift" and the complex acoustic melodies of "Morning." ...And the Night Swept Us Away builds on The Writing of Gods in the Sand by toning down the over-crisp production and focusing more on hypnotic rhythmic guitars, making for a fantastically dreamy soundscape that will appeal to fans of the Cascadian scene.

Time will tell if this is a one-off experimental record that is simply bridging the gap between full-lengths, or a preview of what's to come. But one thing is certain; these South Africans are serious about making music, and they're seriously good at it.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Wildernessking - The Writing of Gods in the Sand

Artwork for the CD version by Reuben Sawyer / Rainbath Visual.

Wildernessking have just released their new full-length The Writing of Gods in the Sand on their Bandcamp. At base this is black metal with towering riffs and shrieking vocals full of spite and agony, but you also find post-metal parts like chiming guitars, rock beats and proggy drum progressions incorporated in the songs. And like the No Clean Singing review says

many passages where the sonic blast falls away and a subdued, entrancing melody emerges through isolated instruments to haunt the listener’s memory.

The rawness in the music is also balanced by a clean and full production. Even the name Wildernessking is part of the balancing effort, as Angry Metal Guy says:

it reflects an image of the natural world: balanced between the harsh realities of life and death and the stark beauties and the dangers that lurk inside of them.

The first incarnation of Wildernessking was as Heathens and they were one of my first Bandcamp discoveries. It's been exciting to follow their rapid progress up to The Writing of Gods in the Sand. Check out the Heathens Bandcamp here.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]