Pestilential Shadows - Wretch

Pestilential Shadows is consistent and reliable, which are not adjectives often used to describe Black Metal bands. Wretch will be the band’s eighth full length, and it comes a year after Devil’s Hammer. Led by Balam, who notably played in Nazxul, the band has had a revolving door of musicians since their 2003 demo, The Fate of All That Lives. However, the reasons for lineup changes are not always as sinister as you would think. Australia is a vast country (even within cities). It is not easy to meet up and to write, record or practice, let alone play shows together. This has been a challenge for Balam, who is constantly writing and wanting to push Pestilential Shadows forward. Regardless of the lineup changes, the quality of the releases has not wained one bit. The consistency of this band is evident in their discography, and you can trust Pestilential Shadows to deliver, and with Wretch, they have done that again.

Within the first few bars of the opening title track, it is clear that Wretch is a slightly different beast to Devil’s Hammer. The production is stripped back a little. It is not raw, but it is more organic and ethereal sounding, which emanates a different feeling than Devil’s Hammer. After my first listen of Wretch, my first thought was “oh, is that it.” However, I was immediately drawn to play it again, and then again. I was intrigued about it, and I wanted it to infiltrate my consciousness, and it did that. The artwork by Greallach also intrigued me. It is dark and harrowing, and it matches the album perfectly. The trumpets awakening the dead is perfect. There is a sadness to the album. A lyric in “Where Sunlight Goes to Die” is evidence of that:

“Life is now empty, bottomless & senseless.”

The Italian philosopher and poet, Giacomo Leopardi, quoted that “real misanthropes are not found in solitude, but in the world; since it is experience of life, and not philosophy, which produces real hatred of mankind.” It is that despondence that yields sadness, allows the darkness to consume, and I feel that with Pestilential Shadows and Wretch in particular. There is an overarching occultism/satanic vibe to the album, and death and decay is always present, but there is an underbelly here of personal life events and a despondence towards the world that seeps through, and it feels authentic. Seeing them live in Tasmania recently confirmed this for me.

Balam has a lot of trust in his band, and while he has known his new members, Drekavac (guitar) and Lithuz (bass) for a long time, he truly collaborates with them here. It shows too; there are some subtle changes in the approach to Wretch, compared to Devil’s Hammer. Wretch is dark, cold and ugly, but there are moments of light and space, and some wonderfully timed and well executed solo sections. This adds to the melancholic feeling that unearths itself as the album progresses.

Contrast and dynamism is crucial with any art form, and Pestilential Shadows has perfected this over the years. I think that experience is the only way that this can be achieved. This is displayed with the gradual build of “Aherbelts,” which feeds into “Cold Entropy.” The rhythm section is very impressive on this album, and the beginning of “Cold Entropy” is evidence of that - it is like an avalanche of sorrow, throttling its way into your senses.

I hear a lot of Thrall (Tasmanian ex-pats) here in parts, and that is a very very good thing. Space is crucial in Black Metal and Pestilential Shadows do this very well, especially in the back half of the album. For those that like their Black Metal with the odd hook: they are here, but you have to be patient, a little more so than with Devil’s Hammer. The vocals on face value are ugly and vile, but on the whole less violent but yet less melodic. If you dig a little deeper, there is incredible nuance to it all, which is often lost in Black Metal.

The bass work on “Despondent” and the drumming too is killer, and it is my favourite track on the album, it is a really dynamic piece that evolves and moves you. The vocables in “Where the Sunlight Goes to Die” adds depth and atmosphere, but it is my least favourite aspect of this album. I generally find vocables lazy, and while I did not get that feeling here, I would rather there be space and silence (or a solo) than ”oooooh” and “ahhhhhs.” There is a sadness to Wretch, dulled emotions that are flat but strong, almost a feeling of giving up, letting the darkness consume, and that mood is consistent from the first second to the last.

Krvna moved from guitarist on Devil’s Hammer to audio engineer on Wretch. While his songwriting contributions are missed here, he makes up for it in the mastering aspect. He is a very talented engineer and the album sounds fantastic, a perfect blend of modern and old school Black Metal.

Balam lives Black Metal and the true ethos of it. While this is not the raw bedroom produced sound that many consider the essence of Black Metal, Pestilential Shadows has consistently made killer music, and they should be spoken of in that upper echelon of Black Metal bands in the world. They capture a mood, it is music that makes you feel things. It can be personal to the listener or not, it can make you feel angry, sad or even happy, who cares, but if it does not evoke emotions then it should not exist as art, and Wretch does.

KILLER!