Witherfall– Sounds of the Forgotten

With release of their debut album Nocturnes and Requiems in 2017, Witherfall entered the metal scene with skill you’d expect from experienced gentlemen associated with Iced Earth, Sanctuary, White Wizzard etc., but what they have proved over the course of their first three albums is that this is a band who has a lot to say and whose dedication and inspiration are monumental.

And with their fourth album, Sounds of the Forgotten, the above description has perhaps never been more fitting. The band is going down the established trails of a beautiful mixture of Heavy Metal, Progressive, Dark and even Thrash Metal. On the new album, however, they’ve expanded their approach and composition framework more than ever before. Complexity has always been a part of the band’s music and never so much so as it is anno 2024, yet at the same time they never sound like a jam band, and they always maintain a good dose of approachable feel, making even the most complex songs easy to hum to. Even when they really let their creativity loose, the songs don’t come across as complicated or hard to get into. On the contrary, there is an infectious quality to the majority of the material.

On the other hand, once you do get deeper into this album, those spectacular performances, arrangements and underlaying density also play a massive part of what Witherfall’s music. And while the individual performances are jaw-dropping, the way they all come together, it’s where the magic occurs.

Inspirations are many and diverse and while it’s easy to spot traces of Crimson Glory, King Diamond, Nevermore and even Queen, the band has already back in 2017 made them into their own. On their fourth album the sound Witherfall is that of a highly established band who know where they come from but at the same time dare to experiment with, theatrical interludes, Spanish guitar, and most noticeably with their rather creative arrangements. And those arrangements are one of the key elements that makes the band’s sound.

Sounds of the Forgotten sees the band at their most liberated and imaginative, allowing themselves to go wherever they might feel, while never forgetting to work on the general good of the songs and the album.

Common for all the debut, A Prelude to Sorrow and Curse of Autumn is that Witherfall have firmly maintained the overall quality of the material and while that is undeniably case with Sounds of the Forgotten, what makes this their strongest album to date is the liberating approach unleashing their creativity. Add to that the almost overwhelming intensity of the material and what you have is a fascinating, emotional and potent album.

Starting as something of a supergroup and releasing three very strong albums is impressive in itself, what dazzles additionally that with their fourth album they have not only created their strongest album to date, but also their most concentrated, creative and impactful album to date.

www.witherfall.com