Sounds of the Forgotten is the riveting new release from metal quartet Witherfall. The Los-Angeles based goth-metal visionaries released their fourth album at the end of May and will be heading on tour later this summer, along with playing several festival dates. An eclectic mix of power metal and Spanish-styled acoustics, Sounds of the Forgotten combines the band’s various influences, creating invoking imagery within each song.
“They Will Let You Down” dives right into the mayhem. Anarchic, thrash metal at its finest, the opening track sneers a brutally wise message to listeners. ‘Embrace the silence because they will let you down,’ is an eye-opening hook, quick to the point and packing a punch in the process. The speed drumming fluctuates between tempos, highlighting a complex solo partway into the song.
A thought-provoking, inner heaviness laces the second track, “Where Do I Begin.” This melodic, Ozzy-styled power ballad swoops in abnormally early for a slow hymn on a record. The airy vocals and haunting riffs grant the song its ethereal atmosphere with a breakdown on the bridge. The airy harmonies twist into snarls during the last section before dropping back into the chorus.
At a minute and a half, “A Lonely Path” serves as the shortest track. A soundwave of experiences with rhythmic drumming, light cathedral synth, and breathy vocals, “A Lonely Path” gives the listener an isolating feeling of darkness and dismay.
“Insidious” returns to thrash and hardcore screams, thrown in with some melodic chords. At the halfway point, lacy guitar riffs spiral around hushed vocals, creating distance from the garage-metal heaviness that infiltrates much of the song, then just as quickly the full sound kicks in and we are thrown back into the chaos.
Opening with a melancholy riff, “Ceremony of Fire” is the second longest track on Sounds of the Forgotten, chiming in at seven minutes long. A cacophony of sounds serenades this, a story within a song which just keeps on going. Lines like ‘We are running away from ourselves…’ once again grants the listener an introspective viewpoint. Anthemic and loud, there’s nothing dismissible about “Ceremony of Fire,” a song which demands attention and obedience.
As we reach the title track “Sounds of the Forgotten,” listeners are met with that atmospheric, rhythmic drumming pattern. Eerie and cutting to the core, “Sounds of the Forgotten” packs together lyrical imagery, synchronized melodies, a classic hard rock solo, and the piercing wails of the singer whose cries hit the mark of fierce agony and passion. As his last line fades, we hear the last of the percussion chiming away as well.
“When It All Falls Away” rolls in as the eighth track with a tantalizing opening riff, slow and melodic to narrate the ghostly vocals. One of the most haunting tracks of the album, the pace rarely picks up even as the howls rise, always smoothly returning to the original melody. Spanish-strumming takes the spotlight for a while, intricate, delicate, and moving, opening the way to a full band breakdown.
“Opulent” continues the intricate riff into its own song. More than just an interlude, it highlights the complex diversity of Witherfall’s sound.
The concluding track, and at ten minutes the longest one on the record, “What Have You Done” rushes in with anarchic synth, keys, and those full-bodied empowering wails that break forth and twist the narrative each way.
Sounds of the Forgotten delicately weaves in highs and lows of assorted styles and influences, a metal album for those looking for something that is musically a cut above the rest. The album cover is as visually pleasing as the record sounds, a whimsical violet-hued image of a woman framed by nature with a looming moon above. Witherfall set out to raise the bar and push further than earlier releases and Sounds of the Forgotten is proof that the band is only getting stronger as musicians and visionaries.
I’m Music Magazine Writer Alice Kearney
Connect with Witherfall online”
