ALBUM REVIEW: Verloren – Withered

Since their inception, WITHERED has developed a cult-following within the extreme metal scene. Their sound is not something that you can easily define, nor can you with the mental chaos that surrounds it. One of the most cherished things about the Atlanta-based band is their ability to continuously push their own boundaries to such a degree that fans will never know what’s coming around the corner, and now, it’s time to do just that again. Returning with what is considered to be their most daring releases yet, WITHERED welcome their fifth studio album, Verloren.

Aforementioned, WITHERED is a band that cannot be easily defined musically, but there is one word to sum up how their sound feels, tortured, and is somewhat relatable to the themes on the album. Translated, Verloren is “missing” in German, and dependent on how you interpret the album, it’s highly likely it will resonate in some way or another. From the relationships we have, to the current global COVID-19 pandemic and missing what we took advantage of, right to the explanation of a ‘Love Well’, which is how Mike Thompson [guitars, vocals] explains how trauma takes good experiences away from you. When you hear what the album has to offer musically and the shrieks of anguish, it’s clear to see notice just what exactly went into the creation of the fifth-instalment.

There’s nothing enjoyable really about the album, there’s no catchy hooks, no expertly blended melodies or masterpiece solos. Then again, this isn’t meant to be enjoyed, unless of course unrelenting horror and mental disturbance is your thing. When you hear how tracks such as Dissolve deliver blistering riffs with raw, tainted shrieks, the unsettlement that it brings is heavy and weighs on you.

This heavy feeling is something that is continued throughout, this was never going to be an easy album to listen to, WITHERED listeners are already aware that you either get the band’s sound or you don’t, but this could easily create an unnerving feeling for the most-versed fans.

There are moments on Verloren where the album peaks with maximum fury, where it just hits perhaps a bit too much on the emotive level. Casting In Wait sets a perfect example for this, the track is crushing with black metal infused sludge, the guitar work in particular is gut-punching and haunting. There are riffs that are so bleak, followed by a haunting solo with the accompaniment of again, anguished shrieks and howls. It’s almost suffocating at times when you’re sat processing tracks such as this one, yet WITHERED appear in most ways to make you keep wanting to go back for more.

The title-track tackles things a little differently in comparison to its sibling tracks. There’s something just that bit more inviting and warm about an acoustic guitar, regardless of what’s played, there’s an elegance and that’s exactly what this holds. Verloren is still a haunting track musically with the white-noise in the background, but on an emotional level it’s probably the most overwhelming. There’s a sense of hope in the sound, but a lingering of sorrow at the same time. It sums up the meaning of the album’s title and what Thompson meant by the ‘Love Well’ ingeniously. The hope you feel is those happy and loved experiences, whilst the sorrow is knowing that at some point, trauma will replace them, leaving you empty. Sometimes with music, less is more, WITHERED at this moment on the album prove just that.

Of course, it all comes all guns blazing back with closing track, From Ashen Shores, at just over eight-minutes long, like opening track By Tooth In Tongue, this is WITHERED‘s moment to ensure they leave you with the remnants of something truly dark and an inescapable feeling of dread, destruction, terror, whatever it is that is basically the least enjoyable thing for you. They do it well, there’s no room to breathe in this lengthy joy-consuming track, but as much as you feel uncomfortable, again, you just want to return for more.

It’s an obvious observation to make in saying that WITHERED are a band that have a varying fanbase. You either get them, or you don’t, it’s as simple as that. Regardless of which side you’re on however, you cannot knock how the Atlanta-quartet have excelled this time around with Verloren. The band don’t want to create something to be enjoyed, they don’t do what’s expected of them, so to have pulled something that is potentially their nastiest release to date, is a massive success. Verloren is in a strange sense, the mastery of discomfort, an album for those who understand WITHERED to get used to being outside of their mental comfort zone.

Rating: 8/10

Verloren is out now via Season of Mist Underground Activists.

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