Wode: To Bathe In Streams of Rapture
There’s a list of buzzwords we tend to lean on when describing brilliant albums in extreme metal. Brutal. Killer. Devastating. But how often does an album come around that feels genuinely special? A gamechanger album. An album that absolutely hits all the dark buzzwords we tend to go for, but also feels like it transcends the level the band are currently on? It doesn’t happen as often as we’d perhaps like. But Mancunian blackened death metallers WODE have done exactly that with their newest offering, Burn In Many Mirrors, out now via 20 Buck Spin.
So what makes Burn In Many Mirrors so special? The blend of sonic pallets on offer, for one thing. Mixing black metal, death metal, NWOBHM and atmospheric leanings is certainly not a revolutionary take, but rarely, if ever, has a band managed to make the fusion so natural. But when you consider three quarters of WODE plying their craft in trad/speed metal outfit AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR, this unique sound seems more like natural progression than forced.
“I think on paper you could have these different styles together and it maybe wouldn’t work,” begins guitarist/vocalist M.C.. “But I we manage to write and arrange it in a way that marries it all together rather than it feeling a bit jarring.”
“We’re not heading towards a set sound consciously – we just like playing riffs together!” Continues drummer T.H. “These are just the styles we play with WODE and AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR. We want to bring these styles we like and bring it to a black metal context. It’s the personality of the band that brings it all together. I think it’s also about bringing a sense of drama and theatre into the music as well, making something that hits hard rather than being a meditative experience.”
It’s not just the near perfect marriage of styles that makes WODE‘s newest outing so special, though. The key there is song writing across the board. Anyone can pick up the bare bones of a variety of subgenres and shoehorn them together, but here, WODE have executed Burn In Many Mirrors with a natural effortless excellence. Though riffs are king, the excellent lyrical and thematic work here really solidify the brilliance of WODE.
“Burn In Many Mirrors is based on mythology, and tales of descent into the underworld set amongst some of the visions of William Blake and his ‘dark satanic mills.'” M.C. explains, offering mysterious insights to the lyrical foundation of the record while giving away few specific details. “There’s a lot of weird fiction and horror in there inspired by Arthur Machen and bits of folklore as well. I think lyrical inspiration can come form anywhere really, its about shaping it all into a world the album can inhabit. Burn In Many Mirrors isn’t narrative driven as such, there are some elements of that but you can stumble on something from a totally out there source that might just feel right. As long as it fits the mood, you can draw form anywhere. We didn’t really plan for the album to fall side to side but it did work out that way – with the final song, Streams of Rapture, there’s a climatic moment, a moment of rapture that all the lyrics are building towards.”
The thematic strength of Burn In Many Mirrors doesn’t end with the music and lyrics, though. Reinforcing the old idea of an album being a full package, the absolutely stunning cover art from Santiago Caruso
ties in beautifully.
“We had a concept that was actually pretty different, although the triptych was the main thing we had in mind. We had an idea that was pretty specific, but that wasn’t the way Santiago wanted to work. He went through the lyrics and just start painting on instinct.” M.C. explains. “There’s some clear parts form the lyrics, though – the spinal column in the middle is supposed to be an inverted Jacob’s Ladder where people will climb down into the underworld rather than climbing up to heaven, and the figures are a representation of that as well, as they get lower down the ladder they become more surreal and deformed. It’s very much Santiago‘s vision of the lyrics.”
“Yeah, the triptych was the only thing that really survived, Santiago kind of binned our initial ideas!” T.H. laughs. “He doesn’t really do grimness to order, he wants to feel a sense of inspiration in his work.”
“He does stuff for metal bands, but we didn’t want to use the same guys everyone else uses for artwork these days. A lot of his work is more for books and occult work, and his work is a bit more sophisticated as a result.” M.C. continues.
Sometimes a band releases an album and you can just feel in your bones that this will be the album to push the band to a higher level, that this will be regarded as the band’s gamechanger album. Such is the case with Burn In Many Mirrors. Conceptually interesting while still maintaining a sense of mystery and macabre, musically a powerhouse that stands so unique in the UK black metal scene, and with an execution so perfect you could easily mistake this for a AAA release, there’s no question history will remember Burn In Many Mirrors as WODE‘s game changing album. Submerge yourself in the journey of Burn In Many Mirrors, let WODE‘s mastery of their sound wash over you and allow yourself to bathe in streams of rapture.
Burn In Many Mirrors is out now via 20 Buck Spin.
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