Wayfarer – American Gothic | soundsfromthedarkside

Wayfarer - American Gothic Round up the horses and saddle up! Wayfarer is back for more tales from the old American West.

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, the black metal quartet Wayfarer has been going at it for twelve years now with four albums under their belt. They’ve carved their own niche with a remarkable blend of Western-themed black metal, infused with folk and Americana. It’s a strange combination of styles but somehow it works anyway. The predecessor A Romance With Violence from 2020 was already good, as were the two albums before that, but on American Gothic the band crafts a sonic soundscape that will truly transport you back to the old American West.

Starting of this Wild West trek is The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise, immediately delivering on the promise made by the genre description with its moody, twanging guitar intro before the band kicks in full force. When you close your eyes, you can feel the wind in your face and see the thimbleweed roll by. Wayfarer masters that atmosphere from the off and keeps it going throughout American Gothic. It’s wonderful how those sliding guitars mingle perfectly with the more contemporary blast beats, growls, grunts and heavy guitar; it absolutely works like a charm. If you’re not sold after the excellent second track The Cattle Thief, this is not for you and you can move on.

Wayfarer 2023

American Gothic lasts only forty-four minutes but throws in all the diversity the band can muster. From furious black/death metal (To Enter My House Justified) to somber Americana (Reaper on the Oilfields) to moody folk (the melancholy A High Plains Eulogy). Undisputed highlights here are the long The Cattle Thief and the penultimate track Black Plumes over God’s Country, where all styles are combined into one epic track. Different vocal styles are utilized over one continuing and hypnotizing guitar riff. The album ends with the mid-tempo song False Constellation, a moody piece with a large role for a rickety old piano, setting a Western saloon-type atmosphere.

Three quarters of an hour fly by in the wink of an eye and American Gothic will have you grasping for the repeat button on your system, wanting more after False Constellation brings proceedings to an end. Wayfarer’s fifth is a masterpiece in pacing and creating a very specific mood. The Western setting really works wonders here, lifting the material to a whole other level. The songwriting here is stellar and the lyrics really drive the concept of deconstructing the romantic Old West home. It’s a specific record for a very specific crowd, and will undoubtedly not be for everyone, but if you like your black metal moody and absolutely rife with atmosphere, American Gothic might just be for you.

Label: Profound Lore Records

Buy it here: https://wayfarercolorado.bandcamp.com/album/american-gothic

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