With certain bands, it always feels as though the length between albums feels so much longer than just a few years. In exceptional cases, it can make a 3-year wait feel as though an entire decade has passed between efforts, but it’s oftentimes in situations like that in which patience truly is a virtue that can reward the most devout. It feels far more than just five years since the last time we heard any new material from The Wakedead Gathering after their split with Ecferus, but it’s finally now that we can see what the band has conjured up in such a time. In no small way, it’s everything we could’ve expected from the name and just a little bit more.

A wait like five years makes one wonder what could’ve been the reason for such a delay, but it’s in the case of The Wakedead Gathering that I can’t help but feel as though we’re faced with what can only be described as a best-case scenario: the man behind the name was busy with other projects. Surely, this band was never truly still in the years since its last offering, but it’s with in the form of three other bands, some with multiple creations, in which this man was able to still conquer the underground with prejudice, one of those being the up-and-coming name of true chaos, Invultation. This experience can be immensely bountiful if wielded properly, and it’s with every iota of “Parallaxiom” that it was put to magnificent use for The Wakedead Gathering. Taking on the concept of a dark, dystopian future that sees the government taking control of peoples’ fates and determining punishment on crimes yet uncommitted, it’s the entirety of this ten-track creation that we’re able to witness The Wakedead Gathering come into form in such a way that it’s always hinted at even as it’s succeeded wildly in darker, more macabre territory that really got underneath one’s skin without effort. Here, though, we’re able to the band take on a somewhat more straightforward approach with their brand of death metal, but it’s in every way that “Parallaxiom” manages to keep their own identity and flavors throughout the whole of the release without a single shred of compromisation in that name of sounding more accessible. There’s no way to deny that this is still a performance indicative of all that The Wakedead Gathering has delivered to us up to this point in their career, and it’s with each moment presented here that I wonder if this is the best that it’s made thus far.

When dealing with a waiting period of multiple years, this is absolutely the scenario that many of us can only ever hope for whenever it comes to an end. The Wakedead Gathering has been under my watchful eye ever since I first discovered it, and to witness an album like this come from the mastermind behind over up-and-coming acts it’s the very definition of satisfying. There’s so much to dive into with all that was brought forth in order to bring “Parallaxiom” to life in all of its exquisite details, and I’ll gladly wait another five years if it means another effort that comes even close to this sort of glory from The Wakedead Gathering.

“Parallaxiom” releases on July 15th via I, Voidhanger Records!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Parallaxiom” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE The Wakedead Gathering on Facebook here.