On September 5th internationally, Northern Silence in conspiracy with Brilliant Emperor are proud to present Pestilential Shadows‘ highly anticipated eighth album, Wretch.
One of Australia’s longest-running and most respected black metal bands, Pestilential Shadows have been building a towering canon of work since 2003. Whereas many of their native land’s extreme metal exports either tend toward the chaotic or too clean, the shadowy collective led by founding vocalist / guitarist Balam consistently create compelling swathes of drama and darkness, all-enveloping emotion and regal-yet-gritty grandeur. Truly, Pestilential Shadows are black metal classicism par excellence.
And while the last handful of their albums the past decade-plus have seen sizable gaps between them, Pestilential Shadows strike while the iron’s hot with Wretch. Simply and substantially titled, Wretch follows from last year’s Devil’s Hammer and continues the band’s progression / regression toward uglier, gnarlier expanses. Mind you, it’s a lateral development rather than a vertical one – the “form” is still BLACK METAL, and its attendant contents are ruminations on death and the beyond – but the fact that Pestilential Shadows can subtly-to-significantly shift their sonic palette whilst conveying their characteristic melancholy and tragedy speaks to the enduring strength of their songwriting. What’s more, the album’s production is palpably professional, feeling effervescent and crisp even when running through those uglier, gnarlier expanses. If anything, said recording style of Wretch – mastered by Krvna mainman Krvna Vatra, who played on the aforementioned Devil’s Hammer, with mixing done by Balam – gives the record a uniquely ethereal aspect, even when the band have kicked into ultraviolent overdrive. Above all, the eight songs that comprise the 49-minute Wretch prove Pestilential Shadows as masters of pacing, doling out the sublime and the profane with equally windswept aplomb. Of especial note is the solemn procession of “Where Sunlight Goes to Die,” which features guest choral vocals from Dis Pater of Midnight Odyssey.
As always, totality is key, and thus has Greallach Art been brought back to provide stark & austere cover artwork for Wretch. On the strength of this album alone, Pestilential Shadows continue to assert their position as a classics-minded black metal vanguard, and will cement that position in the flesh with a European tour slated for late August through September and then an Australian / New Zealand tour to follow in October (dates after the jump).
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Where Sunlight Goes to Die” HERE at Pestilential Shadows‘ Bandcamp. Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Pestilential Shadows’ Wretch 1. Wretch
2. Erebus Divination
3. Despondent
4. Death-Knell
5. Where Sunlight Goes To Die
6. Aherbelts
7. Cold Entropy
8. Embraced By The Spirit-Realm
Current tour dates
August 30 – Northern Silence Festival – Germany
September 1 – Warsaw
September 3 – Prague
September 5 – Mörlenbach
September 6 – Aarburg
September 9 – Vienna
September 12 – Paris
September 13 – Brussels
September 16 – Tilburg
September 20 – Wroclaw
October 9 – Sydney
October 10 – Wellington
October 11 – Auckland
October 23 – Melbourne
October 24 – Adelaide
October 25 – Brisbane
Follow Pestilential Shadows