Woods Of Desolation. The name pretty much explains all you need to know about what kind of music you’ll hear. The band formed featuring members of the quite glorious Australian band Austere, so look to them for an inkling as to how this band sounds. That’s not to say that they’re the same band at all. Woods of Desolation take what Austere built and take it to a new level of sorrow.

1. Torn Beyond Reason

2. Darker Days

3. An Unbroken Moment

4. The Inevitable End

5. November

6. Somehow…

It’s black metal, but not as you know it. There’s some melody hidden away in there, and when it comes…boy it’s fantastic. The first track is a prime example of this. It’s harsh then suddenly it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard. And this record really is beautiful. Never has such innate sadness sounded so despairingly haunting and enthralling. Vocally, it’s brilliant. The clean vocals bringing as much emotion as the more standard black metal “shrieks.” This contrast is what makes the album work so well.

As well as the vocals, I really like the drum sound on this album. Like I’ve said before, I know nothing about the technical side of this stuff and can only go on gut instinct and how a song makes me feel. But I feel like the drums are an important part of the sound on Torn Beyond Reason. And to this end the intro to Darker Days might possibly be my favourite intro to a track so far this year. This album is definitely already in my top five for the year. And it’s only April ! I can only hope that the following months bring music as excellent as this.

November is another stand out. It’s an instrumental track and is the perfect lead in to Somehow… the closing track on the album. The use of the ellipsis on the track name is entirely appropriate. It feels like it’s not quite the end of the story, and is merely a sigh before the storm. I look forward very much to hearing what Woods Of Desolation have in store for their next release.

The Inevitable End.