Dragged into
Sunlight – Widowmaker (2012)
Prosthetic
Records
Review by Jude
Felton
In 2011 UK
band Dragged into Sunlight unleashed the devastating Hatred for Mankind on the
world. It was a quite superb doom-laden excursion in the blackest of metal,
with each of the seven songs designed to beat you down as they speed towards
the apocalypse. It was brutal and nihilistic; a quite stunning debut album. Now
they are back with Widowmaker, but do not expect a carbon copy of Hatred for
Mankind, as this is a quite different affair.
Widowmaker
does not have song titles, shit it doesn’t really have individual songs, so to
speak. In fact, the forty minute album is broken down into three parts and
works best as a complete piece of work. Don’t try and listen to this album in
fits and starts, give yourself time to digest the entire disc; it is well worth
your time.
The band, who
been known to play live with their backs to the audience, where balaclavas to
obscure their identities and are known only by one letter names, aren’t
interested in what you think of them, they want their music to do the talking.
Or should I say they want their music to beat you up and let you know that all
is not good in the world. This is Black Metal, but don’t go expecting blast
beats and music that flies along. Hatred for Mankind gave us the faster tunes,
for the most part, but Widowmaker takes the music into doom territory, which
grinds along and methodically takes no prisoners.
The first
tune, of the three, plays out like the bastard cousin of Carter Burwell’s Fargo
theme, with strings and the sound of a bleak and barren landscape confined to
music. Actually, it would be unfair to say that Dragged into Sunlight would be confined
to anything; this is music that goes anywhere and everywhere, with no
boundaries.
The second
and third pieces of music here bring the heaviness in, with thunderous guitars
and apocalyptic drums; the tortured vocals painting a despairing picture of the
world. The vocals are actually few and far between over the 40 minute running
time, but when they do come in they do not paint a pretty picture.
There are
many bands out there that are trying to paint a bleak and depressing picture of
the world, but is has been a very long time since one has done it as effectively
as Dragged into Sunlight. Widowmaker is the perfect counter to Hatred for
Mankind, and it will alienate some listeners, but I have a feeling that this
was the band’s plan all along. They don’t care, of this I am sure, and
Widowmaker they have crafted an absolutely brilliant album.
Widowmaker is available now from Prosthetic Records.
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