Withering Soul was founded way back in the day of 2000 in Chicago, Illinois. Four years after forming, and two demos later, the group signed to Xohol Records to release their debut full-length effort, Apparitions of the Surreal. Finally, after a long period of waiting, the band entered the stupidio, and roughly seven years later gives us No Closure, their second full-length release. While no one really took notice of their debut, given the more Gothic tones to a straight forward Black Metal album then anything, coupled with being on such a little known label, the band has made a full Melodic Black Metal transition, and have composed a very impressive album for it's style.
Taking on shades of Emperor as a clear means of inspiration, as well as hints of others such as modern Dark Fortress, Withering Soul has created a strong Melodic Black Metal album that leaves every track feeling not that unique, but very family, and very welcomed. The album opens with a haunting keyboard piece that sets a grim, melancholic tone while winds blow in the background, depicting a rather cold atmosphere to the release before belting into the impressive opening song "Phantasmal Chaos Divinity". The song captures a very dark atmosphere nicely through heavy, melancholic guitars that, when slowed down, offer up a very depressing atmosphere. The keyboards to this album are fantastic and really push for an early Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal score while gutterals and rhaspier shrieks create an inhuman feeling that matches the dark approach of the song. The song itself is catchy and draped in pure evil atmosphere, but it pales in comparison to the following track, which takes all of those elements, and amps them up with a faster approach that leads to a very hook driven opening, and a very brutal approach through hammering drums and blistering double bass kicks through much of the song. These two tracks perfectly showcase what is to be expected on this release: Dark melancholy, and utter devastation.
One of the more impressive elements of this recording is the way the vocals are done. Typically, when the music is a little slower, the vocals tend to be a more gutteral approach. However, when that music starts to pick up and tear your face off with it's blistering brutality, it's like Hell has broken loose as the Black Metal shrieks kick in, full of energy, sometimes supported by some back-up gutterals if necessary, or switching over to them for a line or two. "Tides of the Accursed" is one of those tracks that illustrates that perfectly. The gutterals also stand out nicely with how deep they are, often coming off more as an inhuman whisper, really suiting the cold atmosphere of the slower paces. However, the album seems to focus more on being heavier, faster, and brutal modern day Melodic Black Metal sound in light of the more ambient and atmospheric pieces, which after "The Sequitor" seem to be broken up among the faster paced material in each song, though some straight forward atmospheric Black Metal tracks do still exist, such as "Lifeless They Lie".
Each track on here stands out unique from one another, whether it's due to a high amount of atmosphere through the keyboards, or just a brutal intensity from the speed. The band has also not fully let behind their Gothic roots, as "Unquiet" takes on a more Gothic sense through a somber performance that takes on a Black Metal meets Heavy Metal approach, but retaining that cold atmosphere against deep clean singing and the traditional female operatic vocals. The song does pick up a bit and become heavier, making the Black Metal a little stronger, and incorporating a generic Black Metal wailing style. Compared to the rest of the material on here, this track is the only one that really hinders the album. The rest come off more as honorable retellings of vintage Melodic and Symphonic Black Metal efforts in it's freshest days, while this specific track just feels generic and uninspired, cashing in on cliches more then anything else, despite the atmospheric overtones that make many of the slower songs on here really stand out with that cold, dark, wintery feeling. In essence, it ruins the end of the album, though the closing track "A Requiem for Sorrow" doesn't stand all that tall on it's own either, being a rather hollow sounding track due to how low the keyboard volume in, and the guitar being played very lightly. It's not bad, but it just feels empty and nowhere near as important a song as the introductory track "Night of the Revenant".
For a band that hasn't put an album out for years, Withering Soul did not fail to create one hell of an out of nowhere near-masterpiece. The music to this album pays homage to the glory days of Melodic and Symphonic Black Metal, and it's done with pure passion for the style. Each track here is a refreshing return to when Metal was stylish and still sounded evil, menacing and punishing. No Closure does everything right, and manages to hook you with each track, whether if it's from being brutalized, or getting stuck on the guitar hooks and atmosphere. Sadly, the last two tracks feel more tacked on then anything, which hurts such a powerful album, but in the end they won't stop you from going back to the start and reliving this near-masterpiece all over again for many, many future spins.
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