For those who take the time to sit down and analyze music, we listen to the extent where you can really pick apart the band’s influences just from listening to them. And it’s become a trend where weed is a heavy influence on many acts that we get nowadays especially in the realms of doom and rock. But, it’s in that very same realm where Oenos approaches things with a different substance: wine. Never before did I think wine and metal would make a good creation, but this album makes a very solid case for it.

Now, I’m sure you’re as puzzled about what I just said as I was when I first found out. While some of the tracks are named after wine and such, it’s the fact that this entire album was written under the influence where the inspiration came forth from for Oenos. Personally, I wasn’t too big into that idea at first given the possibility of the album being a literal drunken mess of fuck all, but it’s with “Noir II” that we get something surprisingly well put together and gripping for something like this. The eight tracks that are brought straight from the winery are absolutely overflowing with delicious morsels that are engaging right from the first note as the elements of doom and sludge wrapped in a very classy coat of post-metal that brings a fantastic atmosphere to the mix that works immensely well. Just about everything that’s poured into “Noir II” feels very purposeful but still with the emotional heft of someone pouring forth all their thoughts without any sort of filter, and while I feel that I should scoff at the idea that the wine is doing the talking here, I can’t help but utterly approve of what Oenos has done here from top to bottom.

It really is the little things that make life interesting sometimes, and this is definitely one of them. I never once even dared to entertain the thought that wine-influenced metal would be a good idea much less actually work out with it resulting in a tasteful display. Yet, that’s precisely what we got here with “Noir II” as Oenos not only shows us it can be done well but that there’s so much more territory to explore with this certainly unique approach to songwriting.

LISTEN to “Noir II” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Oenos on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Oenos on Twitter: @oenosmusic