Given how long black metal has been around, it’s only natural that we’ve found ourselves before trends and notions that have become baked into the very DNA of what the genre still has to offer. For all that it has to offer, I continue to find myself enamored with when the sound ventures into the realms of nature for inspiration. It’s a font of inspiration that has yet to dry up with new talent constantly coming around to show us such a tried-and-true approach can bring to the table. Throughout the whole of its fourth album, Vials of Wrath shows how it can still be done in exemplary fashion.

Of the many things that have plagued black metal throughout its time, oversaturation and a lack of imagination are certainly up there are some of the worst offenders when it comes to what’s holding the sound back in many instances. You have to sort through a lot of acts that feel as though they’re doing little more than taking up space in an underground realm that is already exceedingly dense. It’s upon exploration and more than a little bit of luck that you’re able to find yourself before talent that actually capitalizes on the possibilities of what the genre can be. In no small way, it’s with my discovery of Vials of Wrath and “Remnants for Remembrance” that I cannot help but feel as though this particular corner of black metal has a real champion that has thrived in relative obscurity. Tapping into the serenity of nature while never once allowing that distinct edge of black metal to slip through its fingers, Vials of Wrath has crafted an intricate performance that knows precisely what it’s doing every step along the way. Expansive atmospheres give way to cold riffs with the very changing of the leaves playing a role in each of these seven tracks. It’s journey in its final stages, before death and eventual renewal. There’s beauty to be had in the harsh, unyielding embrace of decay that exists almost purely so the cycle can proceed unabated.

“Remnants for Remembrance” may not be the most impactful creation of atmospheric black metal that I’ve ever encountered, but there is no way in mistaking how well-suited Vials of Wrath is for doing this corner of the genre immeasurable justice. More than capable of calming acoustic-driven passages and haunting reaches of genuine suffering amongst such overwhelming splendor, it’s here that Vials of Wrath showcases black metal in nature without compromise to be had in practically every form.

LISTEN to “Remnants for Remembrance” on Bandcamp here.

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