WITHERED ANCIENT – II

I stumbled on this evocative and atmospheric black metal opus by the utterly obscure Bulgarian outfit named Withered Ancient while browsing Bandcamp at work the other day, and there was something about it that drew me in and kept me engaged throughout. The stark monochrome album cover and the idea of primarily using synthesizers as opposed to electric guitars undoubtedly had something to do with me finding the prospect of immersing myself in its five borderline hypnotic and seductive compositions intriguing. There is a cold and wintry aura to II and it does possess a harsh edge, but it also displays a certain talent with respect to making the song arrangements interesting and maintaining a good flow throughout. Dark and oftentimes claustrophobic but tinged with just the right amount of sadness and a sense of yearning and despair, this is a slightly different take on underground black metal, or black ambient metal if you will, and is worth checking out. In fact, its murky sound and experimentation with drone-like soundscapes reminded me ever so slightly of Gleipnirs Smeder by Jotunspor in places.