This is the debut record from Danish post-metal band Redwood Hill. It was released earlier this year by the awesome Bloated Veins. Marco from Redwood Hill was kind enough to send me a CD copy of the record to review and it came in a really cool gatefold case, with really nice artwork. Descender has been released on CD, vinyl and as a digital download. Redwood Hill have played with some of my favourite bands of recent times, Hexis and This Gift Is A Curse (amongst others), so I was pretty excited when I was given the chance to review this record.
Tracklist:-
1. Aten
2. Dybbuk
3. Tristesse
4. Poseidon
5. Croatoan
6. September
In this digital age, it's really hard to keep up with all of
the bands that are vying for our ears. Nobody can possibly listen to them all.
That's why it's great when a band reaches out to you and sends you a physical
product. It stands out (that's not to say that digital products don't). I'm
just speaking, as I do all the time, from a fans perspective.
I've been holding off reviewing Descender, but couldn’t hold
my excitement any longer and had to stick it in my CD player. Being Danish, I
knew they were gonna be good, as Denmark can do no wrong at the moment.
Descender does not disappoint. Aten is a prime opening song, heavy,
claustrophobic and with enough angular structure to straddle multiple genres. As
well as the heaviness though, they do pepper Descender with passages of
ambience that tend to help them transition between songs. This happens at the
end of Aten and leads you into Dybbuk. The vocals at this point tend to lean
towards black metal, but with the faint melody of the guitars, the sound manages
to stay the right side of it. The clean vocals mid-way through Dybbuk coupled
with the harmonies makes it a real pleasure to listen to. I love this band
already and I'm only two tracks in!
Redwood Hill's post-metal moments shine through during their
more ambient passages. Their quieter more experimental sections are worth
waiting for, as they shine light over their heavier parts and show their love
for variation. Tristesse is a great example of this, as it's mostly
instrumental and really simple in its delivery. The riffs though towards the middle
of the song, when the band kicks into forward gear sound great. It's like they
tried to play djent without listening to it and still made it sound better! I
know it sounds a lot like I'm gushing over this, but this is my release. Some
people drink loads and pass out, some people do drugs and some hit other
people. I listen to and write about music I like, which in my view is a much
better use of my time!
Sat staring out of my window as the sun as Poseidon plays is
a treat. That same instrumental build up that graced Tristesse rings out,
before crescendoing into another roaring, black metal infused hymn. The other
thing with Redwood Hill is that they don't play beard-strokingly long songs.
Okay, they're longer than the ADHD generation can cope with, but they are too
the point and contain plenty of impact. The production also helps to get their message across. It's
good but not too glossy, which is the way it should be with a band of this
quality.
The guitars at the start of Croatoan sounds pretty upbeat,
coming from a band that label themselves "Depressive Nordic Metal".
That upbeat feeling soon gets banished though, as Marco's growls are introduced
again. There's also more of a bass heavy feeling to the song, which heralds
some doom/sludge influences within Redwood Hill's arsenal. All too quickly, you
find yourself listening to the opening bars of last song September. It's a cold
and chilling end to an awesome record, as if it's trying to herald in winter. It's
also the fastest song on Descender in terms of speed and aggression and shows
Redwood Hill in a more urgent light. It's got elements of hardcore and grind in
it, but it doesn't lose that sense of black metal either. An epic end to an
epic record!
Both Redwood Hill and Bloated Veins have done a great
job with this record. If you haven't checked them out yet, do it. If you have,
go and buy the CD or the vinyl version.
You can stream the whole record below:-
As well as streaming it, if you like it make sure you buy it on either CD, vinyl or by digital download from the above bandcamp page. You definitely won't regret it!
Redwood Hill's website - http://www.rwhband.com
Redwood Hill's Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/RedwoodHill
Bloated Veins Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Bloatedveins
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