ALBUM REVIEW: Thought Form Descent – Wake
We talk about it a lot, but evolution really is one of the most important aspects of music. Without it – and with few exceptions – careers and even whole genres can stagnate. Some may embrace it more than others, but few have ever done it quite like WAKE. Formed in 2009 as a relatively no frills crusty grindcore band, the version of the Canadians we hear in 2022 may feel like a far cry from their humble origins, but it would be wrong to say we never saw it coming. Their latest effort, Thought Form Descent, feels like a wholly natural continuation from 2020’s Devouring Ruin, which in turn built on the more expansive hints of 2018’s Misery Rites. It sees the band stretch themselves more than ever before to produce arguably their finest work to date.
In many ways, Thought Form Descent seems to rail directly against the claustrophobia in which it came together. Devastating though it can be, rarely does it bear the marks of a band suffocating under successive lockdowns. There’s just something so elemental about it – a breadth, a depth and a bracing fury. It comes with a dense concept and theme too, with eight tracks telling a non-linear story of a character who seeks to escape his own reality via lucid dreams and astral projection only for this to become his ultimate undoing. As is often the risk, it isn’t always easy to follow, but the scale and grandeur remain abundantly clear. This is powerful, cinematic stuff, designed for listeners to take in as a complete and flowing work.
Backpedalling just a bit here, it’s probably best we gave the album a bit more sonic grounding. Having shed the straight-up deathgrind tag a while ago now, at this point WAKE have essentially become a fully-fledged progressive blackened death metal band. Many of the typical hallmarks of heaviness remain, but they’ve also sought explicitly to challenge those stereotypes of extremity. It means that while we do get plenty of blast beats, and while vocalist Kyle Ball does often steal the show with the sheer force of his harsh vocals, we also get dynamic breaks, quieter interlude pieces, and even a fairly sizable helping of melody and beauty. It results in a record for which ‘majestic’ really is the only appropriate word; an album that sweeps and soars far and wide to match up nicely with its escapist concept.
Given the impressive cohesion and overall flow of the record, we probably shouldn’t spend too long on individual highlights. That said, the opening duo of Infinite Inward and lead single Swallow The Light are quick to take breaths away. Both tip over the six-minute mark, with brief breaks of striking delicacy serving to accentuate their otherwise maelstrom ferocity. Indeed, most of the songs here take up a fair whack of time. Three others sprawl even further than either of the opening pair, while only the fourth track interlude Pareidolia and the reflective closer The Translation Of Deaths come in anywhere under three minutes.
Despite all this, Thought Form Descent absolutely flies by. Every choice makes sense, and every track works both as an individual piece and within the context of the record. As we proceed breathlessly towards the album’s latter moments, Observer To Master provides another stand out offering. Throwing in some almost MASTODON-esque twists and turns in the guitar work, it’s a soaring, emotive epic replete with not one but two stirring guitar solos. Bleeding Eyes Of The Watcher meanwhile boasts some of the album’s most powerful heft of all. Stretching well towards to the nine-minute mark, it makes for a fittingly climactic penultimate track, with its final volley of blast beats fading into the aforementioned The Translation Of Deaths to end the record in a wash of swirling synths and soundscapes.
In case it wasn’t abundantly clear, Thought Form Descent is a must-listen; an impressive case study in graceful evolution, and more importantly a masterful record in its own right. As WAKE maintain their constant forwards motion, it’s both daunting and enthralling to imagine where they go from here.
Rating: 9/10
Thought Form Descent is set for release on July 22nd via Metal Blade Records.
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