ALBUM REVIEW: Burn In Many Mirrors – Wode

Extreme metal in the United Kingdom is in glorious health – especially that of the blackened variety. Whether its the talismanic Glaswegian Andy Marshall with SAOR and FUATH or English black metal OGs WINTERFYLLETH, black metal is enjoying perhaps its strongest period in the UK at present. Breaking their way out of the underground and into the vanguard of UK black metal are Mancunians WODE. The quartet have already impressed with their early offerings – their self-titled debut and follow up Servants of the Countercosmos were both well received to say the least – but with a four-year break between albums, do they have still have the magic touch? Burn in Many Mirrors suggests they haven’t just maintained their magic touch, they’ve perfected it. 

Burn In Many Mirrors represents a huge level of growth for WODE. Those familiar with their previous outings will be expecting an energetic, dark blend of black and death metal, and while there’s no huge deviations from their roots the quartet have upped the game considerably. This is a blackened death metal offering in its truest sense, not a blending of the two – each genre fusing into one whole masterfully. Opener Lunar Madness shows this wonderfully right off the bat, d-beat brutalisation working in tandem with furious tremolos to devastating effect. The opener also offers a lovely taste of a new element in WODE‘s arsenal – bombastic flurries of traditional metal melodies. Lead breaks, soloing and melodious undercurrents of the NWOBHM variety flare up across Lunar Madness bringing a different dimension to the newly focussed sound – but this isn’t just a touch of experimentation to test the waters.

Serpent’s Coil doubles down on the NWOBHM influence, the opening tremolo riffs bleeding into IRON MAIDEN-esque melodies and a stomping, blackened speed metal groove. Melody-driven soloing runs under the vocals before the dual harmony guitar work ups its tempo and drives WODE into a passage of pure black metal aggression, while gothic organs fill out the soundscape towards the end of the track. Only two tracks in, and it’s already abundantly clear that Burn in Many Mirrors isn’t just cautious step forward from Servants of the Countercosmos – the four year recording gap has left the band with an abundance of ideas, while the time spent honing their talents on stage has given them the chops to execute those ideas stunningly.

Charging into Burn in Many Mirrors‘ midsection, Fire In The Hills offers a doomier change of pace. Initially moodier than much of what has come before, it doesn’t take too long for the quartet to drive into their unique brand of NWOBHM-influenced blackened-death-cum-speed metal. Raucous and dark, Fire In The Hills bounces its way towards a thunderous climax, a hint of pure DISSECTION worship bursting forth before Sulphuric Glow makes its chaotic presence felt. Penultimate track Vanish Beneath is a haunting affair, dripping with doom and grimness in equal measure, nicely leading into the final opus.

WODE aren’t messing about with their album closer. A ten minute triptych, Streams of Rapture sees the classic WODE sound and their new influences and elements come to an explosive head. Ethereal and atmospheric, the introduction to Streams of Rapture hammers home a feeling of unease, ritualistic drums clashing with a medieval sounding synth before fading into eviscerating blackened death metal at its best. Tremolos blend with old-school d-beats, blast beats overpower death metal grooves and discordant lead breaks add to the chaos as the ten-minute opus builds itself – there’s even hints of hooks and just a touch of prog buried in there somewhere as well. All of this sounds like it should be a mash of too-many styles, but here-in lies the unquestionable strength of WODE; their ability to work influences and ideas into untouchable, unbeatable song writing. If Burn in Many Mirrors represents the greatest work the Mancunians have yet put to tape, its closing track shows them at their most ambitious.

The path from hometown heroes to internationally recognised and respected behemoths is a long and treacherous one; its almost the default fate for bands to disappear into the ether somewhere between achieving notoriety in their local or regional scenes and becoming a serious name in the global metal consciousness – though not for a lack of talent, in most cases. Should the stars align and WODE fulfil their destiny in becoming titans of the international extreme metal scene, history will remember Burn In Many Mirrors as the album that set them on that path. This is nothing short than an incredible display of growth and song writing mastery.

Rating: 9/10

Burn In Many Mirrors is set for release April 2nd via 20 Buck Spin. 

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