(written by Islander)
A new week dawns at our site, and with it we bring a song premiere that’s the dawn of a new EP by Where The Light Fades, a Toronto-area band that arose during the pandemic from the ashes of Astaroth Incarnate.
This new EP is a three-song offering entitled Into The Depths of The Black Creek, and it will be released on January 31st by the Northernshadow label, which previews it this way:
Expect a mixture of black, doom, and some melodic death metal in the vein of Wolves In The Throne Room, Imperium Dekadenz, Mgła, Darkthrone, Taake, and early Katatonia.The lyrics are based on life, death, and grieving – something anyone can relate to.
The song we’re now presenting is “Torn Out,” the track that begins the EP, and it is a powerfully arresting and involving experience, elaborate in its ingredients and evolution as it presents captivating shades and phases of darkness, but also viscerally compelling.
At the beginning, enormous bass notes solemnly reverberate, as if an immense hooded figure is asking us to come to attention for what is to come. But simultaneously, a layering of gritty and gleaming guitars writhes in a way which signifies this ceremony will be a remembrance of pain and loss.
The drums rumble and boom in a primitive rhythm which adds to the atmosphere of ritual, while jagged snarls and scarring screams add ferocity and fear to the proceedings. The intensity builds as the drums hammer and the riffing soars and sears, but that enormous bass and cracking beats shift the groove into something more primal, more feral — but the guitars drench the senses in sounds of brilliance and glory.
More changes arrive, with music that sounds dark and menacing, threatening and grim (still backed by gripping rhythm-section collaboration), but also fiery and sorcerous. The song fades away… too soon… because the music is so engrossing that breaking away feels like a disappointment (just like life often does).
WHERE THE LIGHT FADES is:
Sergio (guitars/vocals)
Emile (drums)
Rob (bass).
The new EP includes two more songs which follow the one you’ve just heard — “Sands of Time” and “Looming Doom (Into The Depths).”
The EP was recorded at Seventh Level Sounds in August 2024, with Matt Helms as the engineer. The artwork was done by Eza Fadhlul (Conqueror Ink).
Northernshadow will release it in an Ecopack CD edition limited to 250 copies, with a Bandcamp download code. It’s available for pre-order now.
PRE-ORDER:
https://northernshadow.ca/products/where-the-light-fades-into-the-depths-of-the-black-creek-ep
NORTHERNSHADOW:
https://northernshadow.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/northernshadowwebstore/
WHERE THE LIGHT FADES:
https://wherethelightfades.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wtlfband
https://www.instagram.com/wtlfband
