ALBUM REVIEW: Wither On The Vine – Darkest Era

Eight years in the waiting, Irish rockers DARKEST ERA are finally releasing their third record Wither On The Vine, showing off their talents of blending together two quite unlikely genres: folk and heavy metal. When looking at an image of the band and then hearing the album in full you can’t help but view them as a modern reincarnation of Vikings or those from Nordic legends. 

It’s rather fitting given their music likes to centre around their local mythology and folklore, even more fitting that the songs focus on a darker side of the stories, creating a haunting atmosphere. Right from the get-go, the opening track One Thousand Years Of Night creates a moody atmosphere with dark and brooding guitar before the more heavy metal style instruments and vocals kick in to leave you sat in amazement. As we go on to Floodlands the moody soundtrack continues, starting out in a slower style before completely shifting at the halfway point. At this moment we are left basking in a grand epic film soundtrack.

One of the key features about DARKEST ERA is the combination of Krum and Sarah Wieghell’s vocals that create something so beautifully haunting. If you were to compare it or picture their music being played anywhere you can look to the likes of soundtracks used for shows like Vikings, or video games like The Witcher 3 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. You can easily imagine their voices and instruments being played in the background of fight scenes, of establishing a home, of rowing across the sea. It just sounds so epic and cool and stunning.

It’s hard to compare DARKEST ERA to other artists as they’re so unique in their style, although you can hear the influence of other heavy metal greats such as IRON MAIDEN and THIN LIZZY. Their music is full of drama and suspense, beauty and darkness, it’s an epic soundtrack to an epic historical fantasy film, video game, novel, you name it. It’s breath-taking. All we can say is please just listen to this record. At least once. Sit in a dark room and let it consume you, let it take you on a journey. Got it? Good. Now if you excuse us we’re gonna back and play Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. We can’t be a real life Viking so that will have to do.  

Rating: 9/10

Wither On The Vine is set for release on September 30th via Candlelight Records.

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